Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,953
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$6,937
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,715
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
$38,890
Kept after tax
$31,953
Worth in national money
$31,715
State rank
30
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 30 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $38,890. 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 421. 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 $38,890, take-home of $31,953 is worth roughly $31,715 in national money. The average comes to $41,790, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Virginia ranks 30 of 50 for helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers at $38,890. 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--installation, maintenance, and repair workers ranks 421 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 helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers, whose median is $38,890, the adjusted figure of $31,715 differs little from $31,953 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $41,790 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,660 |
| This salary | $38,890 |
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 | $31,953 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,428 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,685 |
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 | $37,054 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,247 |
| 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 $38,890. The published range is $30,410 up to $56,660, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $31,953 take-home in Virginia comes from $38,890. 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 421 of 489.
- Two cautions on $31,715, the adjusted value of that $38,890 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 421 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,410 to $56,660. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $31,953, from $38,890, 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 421 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 30 of 50 for it.
- This $31,715 adjusted figure, worked from $38,890, 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 421 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 421 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $41,790, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $30,410 and the top tenth $56,660, 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 $31,715 — 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, $31,953 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $41,790. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,410 to $56,660) 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 $31,715 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 $31,953 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.