Helpers--Carpenters in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,563
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$8,167
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,299
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
$43,730
Kept after tax
$35,563
Worth in national money
$35,299
State rank
19
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 19 of 47 states for helpers--carpenters, with a middle wage of $43,730. 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, helpers--carpenters ranks 393. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $43,730 the take-home is $35,563, which is worth about $35,299 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $43,980, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia ranks 19 of 47 for helpers--carpenters at $43,730. 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, helpers--carpenters ranks 393 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.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for helpers--carpenters on its $43,730 median: $35,563 retained after tax becomes $35,299 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $43,980 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,140 |
| This salary | $43,730 |
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 | $35,563 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,317 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,103 |
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 | $41,547 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,753 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $43,730 as a midpoint for Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,460 and the ninetieth is $57,140 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Virginia's $35,563, worked from $43,730. 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 393 of 489.
- Two cautions on $35,299, the adjusted value of that $43,730 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 393 of 489 locally.
- The Virginia median of $43,730 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,460 to $57,140. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Virginia take-home of $35,563, on $43,730 for work ranking 393 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 393 of 489 in the state.
- This $35,299 adjusted figure, worked from $43,730, 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 393 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 393 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $30,460 and the top tenth $57,140, 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 $35,299 — 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, $35,563 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,460 to $57,140) 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 $35,299 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 $35,563 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.