Motorcycle Mechanics in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,793
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$9,607
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,497
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
$49,400
Kept after tax
$39,793
Worth in national money
$39,497
State rank
17
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 17 of 45 states for motorcycle mechanics, with a middle wage of $49,400. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Virginia reports figures for, this is number 322.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $49,400 the take-home is $39,793, which is worth about $39,497 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $52,680, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia ranks 17 of 45 for motorcycle mechanics at $49,400. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Virginia's occupational distribution, motorcycle mechanics sits at 322 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for motorcycle mechanics on its $49,400 median: $39,793 retained after tax becomes $39,497 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $52,680 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Motorcycle Mechanics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,350 |
| This salary | $49,400 |
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 | $39,793 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,873 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,593 |
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 | $46,811 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,345 |
| 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 motorcycle mechanics in Virginia earn under $49,400 and half over. The published range runs $35,960 at the tenth percentile to $78,350 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 $39,793, worked from $49,400. 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 322 of 489.
- Two cautions on $39,497, the adjusted value of that $49,400 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 322 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for motorcycle mechanics in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,960 to $78,350; 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 $39,793, on $49,400 for work ranking 322 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 322 of 489 in the state.
- This $39,497 adjusted figure, worked from $49,400, 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 322 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 322 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 $52,680, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $35,960 at the bottom tenth to $78,350 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $39,497 — 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, $39,793 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 $52,680. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($35,960) and the ninetieth ($78,350) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $39,497 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 $39,793 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.