Physical Therapists in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,127
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$26,323
25.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,569
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
$101,450
Kept after tax
$75,127
Worth in national money
$74,569
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 23 of 51 states for physical therapists, with a middle wage of $101,450. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Virginia. It ranks 77 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $101,450 the take-home is $75,127, which is worth about $74,569 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $104,070, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia ranks 23 of 51 for physical therapists at $101,450. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Virginia, physical therapists ranks 77 of 489 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for physical therapists on its $101,450 median: $75,127 retained after tax becomes $74,569 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $104,070 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Physical Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $75,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $101,450 |
| Top tenth earn over | $132,860 |
| This salary | $101,450 |
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 | $75,127 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,200 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,963 |
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 | $94,239 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,999 |
| 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 $101,450. The published range is $75,720 up to $132,860, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $75,127, from $101,450, 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 77 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 $74,569 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 77.
- Reported values are medians; for physical therapists in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $75,720 to $132,860. 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 $75,127 from $101,450. 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 77 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $74,569, worked from $101,450, 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 77 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $75,720 at the tenth percentile, $132,860 at the ninetieth.
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 $74,569 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, $75,127 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 ($75,720 to $132,860) 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 $74,569 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 $75,127 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.