Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,484
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$12,566
20.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,123
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
$61,050
Kept after tax
$48,484
Worth in national money
$48,123
State rank
29
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $61,050, ranking 29 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Virginia reports figures for, this is number 236.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $61,050 the take-home is $48,484, which is worth about $48,123 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $65,200, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia occupies the middle band for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians: a median of $61,050, ranking 29 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Virginia's occupational distribution, clinical laboratory technologists and technicians sits at 236 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.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians on its $61,050 median: $48,484 retained after tax becomes $48,123 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $65,200 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $96,080 |
| This salary | $61,050 |
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 | $48,484 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,234 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,600 |
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 | $57,628 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,563 |
| 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 $61,050. The published range is $38,910 up to $96,080, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $48,484 take-home in Virginia comes from $61,050. 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 236 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $48,123 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 236.
- Reported values are medians; for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,910 to $96,080. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $48,484, from $61,050, 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 236 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $48,123, worked from $61,050, 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 236 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 $65,200 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 $38,910 at the bottom tenth to $96,080 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Virginia run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $48,123 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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, $48,484 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $65,200. 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 ($38,910) and the ninetieth ($96,080) 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 $48,123 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 $48,484 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.