Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,597
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$11,243
20.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,266
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
$55,840
Kept after tax
$44,597
Worth in national money
$44,266
State rank
23
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 23 of 49 states for drywall and ceiling tile installers, with a middle wage of $55,840. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Virginia reports figures for, this is number 273.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $55,840 the take-home is $44,597, which is worth about $44,266 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $55,310, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Virginia ranks 23 of 49 for drywall and ceiling tile installers at $55,840. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Virginia's occupational distribution, drywall and ceiling tile installers sits at 273 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 drywall and ceiling tile installers on its $55,840 median: $44,597 retained after tax becomes $44,266 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $55,310 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $71,330 |
| This salary | $55,840 |
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 | $44,597 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,047 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,149 |
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 | $52,791 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,018 |
| 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 drywall and ceiling tile installers in Virginia earn under $55,840 and half over. The published range runs $39,040 at the tenth percentile to $71,330 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $44,597 take-home in Virginia comes from $55,840. 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 273 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $44,266 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 273.
- Figures are distribution medians for drywall and ceiling tile installers in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,040 to $71,330; 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.
- Retained pay of $44,597, from $55,840, 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 273 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 23 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,266, worked from $55,840, 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 273 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $39,040 and the top tenth $71,330, so most people doing this work in Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $44,266 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 $44,597.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,040 to $71,330) 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 $44,266 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 $44,597 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.