Emergency Medical Technicians in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,824
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$8,596
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,550
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
$45,420
Kept after tax
$36,824
Worth in national money
$36,550
State rank
21
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 21 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $45,420. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Virginia this is lower-paid work. Of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 368. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Virginia costs about what the country costs, so from $45,420, take-home of $36,824 is worth roughly $36,550 in national money. The average comes to $46,370, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Virginia ranks 21 of 51 for emergency medical technicians at $45,420. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Virginia reports, emergency medical technicians ranks 368 of 489, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Virginia is near the national base, so for emergency medical technicians, whose median is $45,420, the adjusted figure of $36,550 differs little from $36,824 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $46,370 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Emergency Medical Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,420 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,180 |
| This salary | $45,420 |
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 | $36,824 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,675 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,249 |
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 | $43,116 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,929 |
| 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 $45,420. The published range is $36,540 up to $59,180, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $36,824, from $45,420, 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 368 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $36,550, the adjusted value of that $45,420 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Virginia. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 368 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for emergency medical technicians in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,540 to $59,180. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,824 from $45,420. 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 368 of 489 locally.
- This $36,550 adjusted figure, worked from $45,420, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 368 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 368 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,540 at the bottom tenth to $59,180 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $36,550 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $36,824.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,540 to $59,180) 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 $36,550 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 $36,824 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.