Education Administrators, Postsecondary in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$87,653
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$33,187
27.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$87,002
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
$120,840
Kept after tax
$87,653
Worth in national money
$87,002
State rank
11
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Virginia pays this job a middle wage of $120,840, ranking 11 of 51 states and sitting about 15.54% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations Virginia reports, this job comes in at 45 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $120,840 the take-home is $87,653, which is worth about $87,002 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $142,210, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia's median for education administrators, postsecondary is $120,840, about 15.54% above the national figure and 11 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Education administrators, postsecondary ranks 45 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.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for education administrators, postsecondary on its $120,840 median: $87,653 retained after tax becomes $87,002 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $142,210 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Education Administrators, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $68,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $120,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $234,300 |
| This salary | $120,840 |
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 | $87,653 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $93,841 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,567 |
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 | $112,044 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$13,216 |
| 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 education administrators, postsecondary in Virginia earn under $120,840 and half over. The published range runs $68,000 at the tenth percentile to $234,300 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $87,653, from $120,840, 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 45 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 $87,002 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 45.
- Figures are distribution medians for education administrators, postsecondary in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $68,000 to $234,300; 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.
- Take-home for Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $87,653 from $120,840. 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 45 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $87,002, worked from $120,840, 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 45 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 $142,210, 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 $68,000 at the bottom tenth to $234,300 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $87,002 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Virginia's own levy, $87,653 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $142,210. 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 ($68,000) and the ninetieth ($234,300) 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 $87,002 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 $87,653 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.