What is the real (cost-adjusted) Electrician salary in Virginia?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 101.3 for Virginia), the real-wage equivalent is $60,801 — what the $61,610 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $48,248 to $75,545.

What does the top of the Electrician pay scale look like in Virginia?

The 90th percentile lands at $110,720. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $76,550.

How wide is the wage spread in Virginia?

P10 to P90 spans $38,380 to $110,720. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

What are the limits of these Electrician salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Virginia?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Virginia.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

How long is the electrician apprenticeship in Virginia?

Virginia typically requires 4 years (8,000 hours) of supervised on-the-job training plus classroom hours before the journeyman exam. Apprenticeship pay starts at roughly 40-50% of journeyman scale and steps up annually. Many Virginia apprentices reach full journeyman pay 5-6 years after starting.

Electrician Salary in Virginia (2026): $62K Median, BEA RPP-Adjusted

TL;DR

Electricians in Virginia earn a BLS median of $61,610, with real take-home of $60,801 after BEA RPP adjustment.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $38,380 · P25 $48,890 · P75 $76,550 · P90 $110,720.
Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
State ranks #32 nationally on nominal wage, #44 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Virginia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$38,380	$37,876
P25 (lower quartile)	$48,890	$48,248
P50 (median)	$61,610	$60,801
P75 (upper quartile)	$76,550	$75,545
P90 (top tier)	$110,720	$109,266
Mean	$66,630	$65,755
Employment	24,300 Electricians in Virginia

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Virginia index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	101.3
Goods	101.1
Services	92.4
Rents	105.6

Virginia's overall RPP (101.3) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Virginia (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Electrician)	$61,610	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$5,255	8.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,796	2–5.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,713	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$48,845	79.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$48,204	÷ (101.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Virginia state-tax burden means for Electrician take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.5% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $48,845 (79.3% of gross). After the 101.3 RPP, real take-home is $48,204.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $62,350 for Electricians with mean pay of $69,630 and total employment of 742,580. Virginia sits at #32 on nominal pay and #44 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Virginia falls 12 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Electrician salary in Virginia?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 101.3 for Virginia), the real-wage equivalent is $60,801 — what the $61,610 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $48,248 to $75,545.
What does the top of the Electrician pay scale look like in Virginia?: The 90th percentile lands at $110,720. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $76,550.
How wide is the wage spread in Virginia?: P10 to P90 spans $38,380 to $110,720. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
What are the limits of these Electrician salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Virginia?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Virginia.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
How long is the electrician apprenticeship in Virginia?: Virginia typically requires 4 years (8,000 hours) of supervised on-the-job training plus classroom hours before the journeyman exam. Apprenticeship pay starts at roughly 40-50% of journeyman scale and steps up annually. Many Virginia apprentices reach full journeyman pay 5-6 years after starting.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 47-2111, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Virginia Electrician pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.