Nursing Assistants in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,168
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$8,032
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,906
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
$43,200
Kept after tax
$35,168
Worth in national money
$34,906
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 24 of 51 states for nursing assistants, with a middle wage of $43,200. 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, nursing assistants ranks 397. 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 $43,200, take-home of $35,168 is worth roughly $34,906 in national money. The average lands at $42,160, below the middle of the range.
- Virginia ranks 24 of 51 for nursing assistants at $43,200. 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, nursing assistants ranks 397 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 nursing assistants, whose median is $43,200, the adjusted figure of $34,906 differs little from $35,168 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $42,160 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Nursing Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,980 |
| This salary | $43,200 |
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 | $35,168 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,891 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,057 |
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 | $41,055 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,697 |
| 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 nursing assistants in Virginia earn under $43,200 and half over. The published range runs $31,560 at the tenth percentile to $50,980 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $35,168, from $43,200, 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 397 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 $34,906 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 397.
- Figures are distribution medians for nursing assistants in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,560 to $50,980; 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 $35,168 from $43,200. 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 397 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,906, worked from $43,200, 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 397 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,560 and the top tenth $50,980, 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 $34,906 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Virginia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $35,168 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,560 to $50,980) 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 $34,906 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 $35,168 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.