Electronics Engineers, Except Computer in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$87,104
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$32,886
27.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$86,457
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
$119,990
Kept after tax
$87,104
Worth in national money
$86,457
State rank
22
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Virginia pays this job around $119,990 at the midpoint, 22 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Virginia. It ranks 48 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- No great distortion either way. Virginia costs about what the country costs, so from $119,990, take-home of $87,104 is worth roughly $86,457 in national money. The average comes to $126,230, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For electronics engineers, except computer the Virginia median is $119,990, ranking 22 of 50 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within Virginia, electronics engineers, except computer ranks 48 of 489 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Price parity in Virginia is near the national base, so for electronics engineers, except computer, whose median is $119,990, the adjusted figure of $86,457 differs little from $87,104 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $126,230 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Electronics Engineers, Except Computer
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $80,700 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $119,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $176,490 |
| This salary | $119,990 |
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 | $87,104 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $93,243 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,497 |
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 | $111,264 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$13,118 |
| 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 electronics engineers, except computer in Virginia earn under $119,990 and half over. The published range runs $80,700 at the tenth percentile to $176,490 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $87,104 take-home in Virginia comes from $119,990. 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 48 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $86,457 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 48.
- Figures are distribution medians for electronics engineers, except computer in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $80,700 to $176,490; 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 $87,104, from $119,990, 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 48 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $86,457, worked from $119,990, 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 48 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 $126,230, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $80,700, the highest tenth $176,490, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $86,457 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 $87,104.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $126,230. 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 ($80,700) and the ninetieth ($176,490) 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 $86,457 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 $87,104 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.