Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,321
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$11,149
20.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,992
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
$55,470
Kept after tax
$44,321
Worth in national money
$43,992
State rank
39
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia is among the lower-paying states for earth drillers, except oil and gas. The middle earner takes $55,470, ranking 39 of 48 states — about 7.84% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Virginia reports figures for, this is number 276.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $55,470 the take-home is $44,321, which is worth about $43,992 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $58,090, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia ranks 39 of 48 for earth drillers, except oil and gas, with a median of $55,470 — about 7.84% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- In Virginia's occupational distribution, earth drillers, except oil and gas sits at 276 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 earth drillers, except oil and gas on its $55,470 median: $44,321 retained after tax becomes $43,992 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $58,090 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,730 |
| This salary | $55,470 |
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 | $44,321 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,750 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,117 |
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 | $52,447 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,980 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $55,470 as a midpoint for Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $45,370 and the ninetieth is $72,730 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $44,321, from $55,470, 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 276 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $43,992, the adjusted value of that $55,470 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 276 of 489 in the state.
- The Virginia median of $55,470 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $45,370 to $72,730. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $44,321 from $55,470. 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 276 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Virginia, so $43,992 — the adjusted value of that $55,470 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 276 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 $58,090 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $45,370 and the top tenth $72,730, so most people doing this work in Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $43,992 of national purchasing power.
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 $44,321.
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 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $58,090. 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 ($45,370 to $72,730) 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 $43,992 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 $44,321 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.