Sheet Metal Workers in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,897
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$10,323
19.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,585
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
$52,220
Kept after tax
$41,897
Worth in national money
$41,585
State rank
39
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia is among the lower-paying states for sheet metal workers. The middle earner takes $52,220, ranking 39 of 50 states — about 15.5% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Sheet metal workers ranks 292 among 489 occupations Virginia publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $52,220 the take-home is $41,897, which is worth about $41,585 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $55,090, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia ranks 39 of 50 for sheet metal workers, with a median of $52,220 — about 15.5% 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 292 of 489 in Virginia places sheet metal workers 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 sheet metal workers on its $52,220 median: $41,897 retained after tax becomes $41,585 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $55,090 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Sheet Metal Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $73,640 |
| This salary | $52,220 |
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 | $41,897 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,139 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,837 |
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 | $49,430 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,640 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $52,220 as a midpoint for Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,440 and the ninetieth is $73,640 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $41,897 take-home in Virginia comes from $52,220. 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 292 of 489.
- Two cautions on $41,585, the adjusted value of that $52,220 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 292 of 489 locally.
- The Virginia median of $52,220 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,440 to $73,640. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $41,897, from $52,220, 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 292 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 39 of 50 for it.
- This $41,585 adjusted figure, worked from $52,220, 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 292 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 292 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $55,090, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,440 at the tenth percentile, $73,640 at the ninetieth.
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 $41,585 — 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, $41,897 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 $55,090. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,440 to $73,640) 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 $41,585 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 $41,897 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.