Database Architects in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$112,412
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$47,948
29.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$111,576
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
$160,360
Kept after tax
$112,412
Worth in national money
$111,576
State rank
3
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Virginia pays database architects a middle wage of $160,360, ranking 3 of 46 states and sitting about 14.95% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations Virginia reports, database architects comes in at 18 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $160,360, tax leaves $112,412, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $111,576 in comparable terms. Here the average runs under the middle, at $154,550.
- Virginia's median for database architects is $160,360, about 14.95% above the national figure and 3 of 46 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Database architects ranks 18 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.
- Because Virginia sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for database architects — median $160,360 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $112,412 retained, $111,576 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $154,550 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Database Architects
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $105,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $160,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $210,160 |
| This salary | $160,360 |
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 | $112,412 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $120,872 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,810 |
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 | $147,982 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$18,212 |
| 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 $160,360. The published range is $105,210 up to $210,160, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $112,412, from $160,360, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 18 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $111,576 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 18.
- Reported values are medians; for database architects in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $105,210 to $210,160. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $112,412 from $160,360. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 18 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $111,576, worked from $160,360, 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 18 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 $154,550 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $105,210 at the bottom tenth to $210,160 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $111,576 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $112,412.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 $154,550. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($105,210 to $210,160) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Virginia rather than a national figure.
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 $111,576 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 $112,412 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.