Firefighters in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,708
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$11,962
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,361
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
$58,670
Kept after tax
$46,708
Worth in national money
$46,361
State rank
22
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia sits in the middle of the pack for firefighters. The median is $58,670, ranking 22 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Firefighters ranks 257 among 489 occupations Virginia publishes pay for.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $58,670, tax leaves $46,708, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $46,361 in comparable terms. Here the average runs under the middle, at $58,240.
- Virginia occupies the middle band for firefighters: a median of $58,670, ranking 22 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 257 of 489 in Virginia places firefighters in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Because Virginia sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for firefighters — median $58,670 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $46,708 retained, $46,361 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $58,240 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Firefighters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,310 |
| This salary | $58,670 |
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 | $46,708 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,321 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,394 |
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 | $55,418 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,314 |
| 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 $58,670. The published range is $38,310 up to $77,310, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $46,708, from $58,670, 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 257 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 $46,361 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 257.
- Reported values are medians; for firefighters in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,310 to $77,310. 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 $46,708 from $58,670. 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 257 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,361, worked from $58,670, 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 257 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,310 at the tenth percentile, $77,310 at the ninetieth.
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 $46,361 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Virginia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $46,708 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,310 to $77,310) 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 $46,361 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 $46,708 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.