How are Virginia Lawyer salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How many Lawyers does Virginia employ?

BLS OES counts 18,420 Lawyers employed in Virginia in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for Virginia different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Virginia's overall index of 101.3 reflects rents 105.6, services 92.4, and goods 101.1.

Where does Virginia rank for Lawyer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Virginia ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

Is Virginia a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?

No — Virginia's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

What are the limits of these Lawyer 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.

BigLaw associate vs in-house vs government vs solo practice in Virginia?

BLS aggregates all lawyers (23-1011) regardless of practice setting. In Virginia, BigLaw and major-market AmLaw 100/200 associates earn at or above BLS P90 on the published Cravath-adjacent pay scale plus year-end bonuses. In-house counsel at established companies sits mid-band with stronger work-life economics. Government attorneys (state AG, public defender, DOJ, federal agencies in Virginia) typically earn at or below BLS median, with PSLF loan-forgiveness eligibility partly compensating. Solo and small-firm practitioners are highly bimodal — successful niche practices in Virginia can exceed BigLaw associate pay; struggling solos earn below the median.

2026 Lawyer Salary — Virginia ($158K BLS, RPP-Adjusted Real Wage)

TL;DR

Median Lawyer salary in Virginia: $157,980 nominal, $155,905 real (BEA RPP basis).
Lawyer ranking: #9 on the BLS table, #8 once cost of living is in.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
Mid-band breakdown: P25 $101,060, P50 $157,980, P75 $203,440. Tail percentiles withheld by BLS — common when tech-sector wages exceed the OES survey cap.

Wage breakdown — Virginia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$77,670	$76,650
P25 (lower quartile)	$101,060	$99,733
P50 (median)	$157,980	$155,905
P75 (upper quartile)	$203,440	$200,768
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$173,200	$170,925
Employment	18,420 Lawyers 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 (Lawyer)	$157,980	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$26,733	16.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$8,338	2–5.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$12,085	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$110,824	70.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$109,368	÷ (101.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.3% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $110,824 (70.2% of gross). After the 101.3 RPP, real take-home is $109,368.

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 $151,160 for Lawyers with mean pay of $182,760 and total employment of 747,750. Virginia sits at #9 on nominal pay and #8 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Virginia climbs 1 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Virginia Lawyer salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How many Lawyers does Virginia employ?: BLS OES counts 18,420 Lawyers employed in Virginia in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for Virginia different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Virginia's overall index of 101.3 reflects rents 105.6, services 92.4, and goods 101.1.
Where does Virginia rank for Lawyer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Virginia ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
Is Virginia a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?: No — Virginia's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
What are the limits of these Lawyer 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.
BigLaw associate vs in-house vs government vs solo practice in Virginia?: BLS aggregates all lawyers (23-1011) regardless of practice setting. In Virginia, BigLaw and major-market AmLaw 100/200 associates earn at or above BLS P90 on the published Cravath-adjacent pay scale plus year-end bonuses. In-house counsel at established companies sits mid-band with stronger work-life economics. Government attorneys (state AG, public defender, DOJ, federal agencies in Virginia) typically earn at or below BLS median, with PSLF loan-forgiveness eligibility partly compensating. Solo and small-firm practitioners are highly bimodal — successful niche practices in Virginia can exceed BigLaw associate pay; struggling solos earn below the median.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 23-1011, 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 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how Virginia Lawyer 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.