Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,341
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$6,389
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,116
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
$36,730
Kept after tax
$30,341
Worth in national money
$30,116
State rank
34
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $36,730, ranking 34 of 46 states — about 4.92% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Virginia, this one sits low: 447 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $36,730 the take-home is $30,341, which is worth about $30,116 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $37,470, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia ranks 34 of 46 for switchboard operators, including answering service, with a median of $36,730 — about 4.92% 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.
- Switchboard operators, including answering service occupies position 447 of 489 in Virginia's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for switchboard operators, including answering service on its $36,730 median: $30,341 retained after tax becomes $30,116 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $37,470 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,320 |
| This salary | $36,730 |
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 | $30,341 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,693 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,498 |
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 | $35,048 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,021 |
| 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 switchboard operators, including answering service in Virginia earn under $36,730 and half over. The published range runs $31,200 at the tenth percentile to $45,320 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $30,341, from $36,730, 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 447 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $30,116, the adjusted value of that $36,730 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 447 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for switchboard operators, including answering service in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,200 to $45,320; 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 $30,341 from $36,730. 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 447 of 489 locally.
- This $30,116 adjusted figure, worked from $36,730, 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 447 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 447 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,200 and the top tenth $45,320, 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 $30,116 rather than its face figure.
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 $30,341 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,200 to $45,320) 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 $30,116 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 $30,341 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.