Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,373
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$4,697
15.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,184
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
$30,070
Kept after tax
$25,373
Worth in national money
$25,184
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 26 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $30,070. 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 487. 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 $30,070, take-home of $25,373 is worth roughly $25,184 in national money. The average comes to $31,700, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Virginia ranks 26 of 51 for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers at $30,070. 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, lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers ranks 487 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 lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, whose median is $30,070, the adjusted figure of $25,184 differs little from $25,373 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $31,700 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,450 |
| This salary | $30,070 |
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 | $25,373 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,341 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,923 |
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 | $28,865 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,307 |
| 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 lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Virginia earn under $30,070 and half over. The published range runs $26,790 at the tenth percentile to $37,450 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $25,373, from $30,070, 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 487 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 $25,184 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 487.
- Figures are distribution medians for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $26,790 to $37,450; 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.
- Take-home for Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $25,373 from $30,070. 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 487 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $25,184, worked from $30,070, 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 487 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $31,700 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $26,790 at the bottom tenth to $37,450 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Virginia costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $25,184 rather than its face figure.
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, $25,373 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $31,700. 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 ($26,790 to $37,450) 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 $25,184 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 $25,373 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.