Funeral Attendants in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,058
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$5,952
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,842
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
$35,010
Kept after tax
$29,058
Worth in national money
$28,842
State rank
28
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia sits in the middle of the pack for funeral attendants. The median is $35,010, ranking 28 of 48 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Virginia, this one sits low: 464 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $35,010 the take-home is $29,058, which is worth about $28,842 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $34,900, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Virginia occupies the middle band for funeral attendants: a median of $35,010, ranking 28 of 48. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Funeral attendants occupies position 464 of 489 in Virginia's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for funeral attendants on its $35,010 median: $29,058 retained after tax becomes $28,842 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $34,900 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Funeral Attendants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,720 |
| This salary | $35,010 |
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 | $29,058 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,311 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,350 |
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 | $33,451 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,842 |
| 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 funeral attendants in Virginia earn under $35,010 and half over. The published range runs $27,910 at the tenth percentile to $44,720 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Virginia's $29,058, worked from $35,010. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 464 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,842, the adjusted value of that $35,010 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 464 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for funeral attendants in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $27,910 to $44,720; 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.
- The Virginia take-home of $29,058, on $35,010 for work ranking 464 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 464 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Virginia, so $28,842 — the adjusted value of that $35,010 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 464 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $27,910 and the top tenth $44,720, so most people doing this work in Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $28,842 — 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 $29,058.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 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 ($27,910 to $44,720) 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 $28,842 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 $29,058 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.