Dental Assistants in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,756
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$8,914
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,476
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
$46,670
Kept after tax
$37,756
Worth in national money
$37,476
State rank
36
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Virginia pays dental assistants a middle wage of $46,670, 36 of 50 states and about 2.91% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Dental assistants ranks 350 among 489 occupations Virginia publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Virginia costs about what the country costs, so from $46,670, take-home of $37,756 is worth roughly $37,476 in national money. The average comes to $47,490, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Virginia's $46,670 median for dental assistants places it 36 of 50 states, about 2.91% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 350 of 489 in Virginia places dental assistants in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Price parity in Virginia is near the national base, so for dental assistants, whose median is $46,670, the adjusted figure of $37,476 differs little from $37,756 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $47,490 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dental Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,910 |
| This salary | $46,670 |
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 | $37,756 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,679 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,357 |
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 | $44,277 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,060 |
| 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 $46,670. The published range is $37,720 up to $58,910, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $37,756 take-home in Virginia comes from $46,670. 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 350 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,476 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 350.
- Reported values are medians; for dental assistants in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,720 to $58,910. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $37,756, from $46,670, 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 350 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 36 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,476, worked from $46,670, 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 350 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,720 at the tenth percentile, $58,910 at the ninetieth.
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 $37,476 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Virginia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $37,756 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,720 to $58,910) 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 $37,476 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 $37,756 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.