Data Scientists in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$91,172
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$35,258
27.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$90,494
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
$126,430
Kept after tax
$91,172
Worth in national money
$90,494
State rank
10
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for data scientists is strong here. Virginia's middle earner gets $126,430, putting the state 10 of 49 — about 5.16% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations Virginia reports, data scientists comes in at 40 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- No great distortion either way. Virginia costs about what the country costs, so from $126,430, take-home of $91,172 is worth roughly $90,494 in national money. The average comes to $134,590, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For data scientists, Virginia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $126,430, ranking 10 of 49 and running about 5.16% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Data scientists ranks 40 of 489 occupations by median in Virginia, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Price parity in Virginia is near the national base, so for data scientists, whose median is $126,430, the adjusted figure of $90,494 differs little from $91,172 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $134,590 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Data Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $76,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $126,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $207,890 |
| This salary | $126,430 |
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 | $91,172 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $97,681 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,027 |
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 | $117,046 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$13,981 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of data scientists in Virginia earn under $126,430 and half over. The published range runs $76,420 at the tenth percentile to $207,890 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Virginia's $91,172, worked from $126,430. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 40 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $90,494, the adjusted value of that $126,430 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 40 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for data scientists in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $76,420 to $207,890; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Virginia take-home of $91,172, on $126,430 for work ranking 40 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 40 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Virginia, so $90,494 — the adjusted value of that $126,430 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 40 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $134,590, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $76,420 at the bottom tenth to $207,890 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 $90,494 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Virginia then takes its own share, leaving $91,172.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $134,590. 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 ($76,420) and the ninetieth ($207,890) 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 $90,494 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 $91,172 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.