Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,582
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$11,578
20.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,243
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
$57,160
Kept after tax
$45,582
Worth in national money
$45,243
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $57,160, ranking 36 of 51 states — about 4.49% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 267 among 489 occupations Virginia publishes pay for.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $57,160, tax leaves $45,582, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $45,243 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $58,400, since top earners drag the number up.
- Virginia ranks 36 of 51 for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators, with a median of $57,160 — about 4.49% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 267 of 489 in Virginia places operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Because Virginia sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators — median $57,160 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $45,582 retained, $45,243 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $58,400 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,250 |
| This salary | $57,160 |
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 | $45,582 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,108 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,264 |
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 | $54,016 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,156 |
| 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 $57,160. The published range is $40,870 up to $78,250, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $45,582, from $57,160, 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 267 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $45,243, the adjusted value of that $57,160 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 267 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $40,870 to $78,250. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $45,582 from $57,160. 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 267 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Virginia, so $45,243 — the adjusted value of that $57,160 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 267 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $40,870 and the top tenth $78,250, so most people doing this work in Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $45,243 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, $45,582 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,870 to $78,250) 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 $45,243 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 $45,582 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.