Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,432
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$11,868
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,087
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
$58,300
Kept after tax
$46,432
Worth in national money
$46,087
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 33 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $58,300. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 261 among 489 occupations Virginia publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $58,300 the take-home is $46,432, which is worth about $46,087 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $59,050, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia ranks 33 of 51 for postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators at $58,300. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 261 of 489 in Virginia places postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine 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.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators on its $58,300 median: $46,432 retained after tax becomes $46,087 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $59,050 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,300 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,280 |
| This salary | $58,300 |
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 | $46,432 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,024 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,362 |
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 | $55,075 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,275 |
| 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 $58,300. The published range is $45,530 up to $75,280, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $46,432 take-home in Virginia comes from $58,300. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 261 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,087 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 261.
- Reported values are medians; for postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,530 to $75,280. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $46,432, from $58,300, assumes a single Virginia filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 261 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,087, worked from $58,300, 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 261 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $45,530 at the bottom tenth to $75,280 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 $46,087 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Virginia then takes its own share, leaving $46,432.
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 ($45,530 to $75,280) 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 $46,087 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 $46,432 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.