Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,937
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$14,163
21.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,544
Virginia costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Virginia — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$67,100
Kept after tax
$52,937
Worth in national money
$52,544
State rank
17
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Virginia pays this job around $67,100 at the midpoint, 17 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Virginia reports figures for, this is number 187.
- No great distortion either way. Virginia costs about what the country costs, so from $67,100, take-home of $52,937 is worth roughly $52,544 in national money. The average comes to $72,240, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For civil engineering technologists and technicians the Virginia median is $67,100, ranking 17 of 50 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Virginia's occupational distribution, civil engineering technologists and technicians sits at 187 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Price parity in Virginia is near the national base, so for civil engineering technologists and technicians, whose median is $67,100, the adjusted figure of $52,544 differs little from $52,937 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $72,240 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $67,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,320 |
| This salary | $67,100 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Virginia | $52,937 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $56,035 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,120 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $63,170 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,267 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Virginia earn less than $67,100. The published range is $45,300 up to $99,320, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $52,937 take-home in Virginia comes from $67,100. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 187 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,544 uses one figure for the whole of Virginia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 187.
- Reported values are medians; for civil engineering technologists and technicians in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,300 to $99,320. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $52,937, from $67,100, assumes a single Virginia filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 187 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 17 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,544, worked from $67,100, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Virginia address, on work sitting at 187 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $72,240 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $45,300 at the bottom tenth to $99,320 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Virginia costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $52,544 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Virginia's own levy, $52,937 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Virginia is $72,240. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($45,300) and the ninetieth ($99,320) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Virginia's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $52,544 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $52,937 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Virginia income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.