How much does a Marketing Manager make in Virginia?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $177,250 for Marketing Managers in Virginia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $134,990 and the 75th-percentile is $223,850.

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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 101.3 for Virginia), the real-wage equivalent is $174,922 — what the $177,250 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $133,217 to $220,910.

How many Marketing Managers does Virginia employ?

BLS OES counts 7,170 Marketing Managers 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 Marketing Manager 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 Marketing Managers?

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.

Does an MBA add to marketing manager pay in Virginia?

MBA-credentialed marketing managers in Virginia typically start 15-25% above non-MBA peers and reach VP-marketing 2-4 years sooner on the median path. The $80-200K MBA tuition + 2-year earnings gap takes 5-10 years to break even — better at top-15 programs with strong CPG/tech recruiting pipelines, weaker at regional MBAs. For demand-gen and growth-marketing tracks, demonstrated revenue impact and analytics chops often beat MBA pedigree on pay outcomes.

Virginia Marketing Manager Salary: BLS $177K Median, Real $175K (2026)

TL;DR

Virginia pays Marketing Managers a BLS median of $177,250 — the more useful number is $174,922, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #2 of 51; nominal rank is #3.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
BLS percentiles available for this state: P25 $134,990, P50 $177,250, P75 $223,850. P10 or P90 is suppressed by BLS for this occupation-state cell.

Wage breakdown — Virginia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$101,020	$99,693
P25 (lower quartile)	$134,990	$133,217
P50 (median)	$177,250	$174,922
P75 (upper quartile)	$223,850	$220,910
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$188,500	$186,024
Employment	7,170 Marketing Managers 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 (Marketing Manager)	$177,250	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$31,358	17.7% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$9,446	2–5.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$13,560	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$122,887	69.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$121,273	÷ (101.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Virginia state-tax burden means for Marketing Manager take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.3% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $122,887 (69.3% of gross). After the 101.3 RPP, real take-home is $121,273.

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 $161,030 for Marketing Managers with mean pay of $171,520 and total employment of 384,980. Virginia sits at #3 on nominal pay and #2 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 much does a Marketing Manager make in Virginia?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $177,250 for Marketing Managers in Virginia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $134,990 and the 75th-percentile is $223,850.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Marketing Manager salary in Virginia?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 101.3 for Virginia), the real-wage equivalent is $174,922 — what the $177,250 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $133,217 to $220,910.
How many Marketing Managers does Virginia employ?: BLS OES counts 7,170 Marketing Managers 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 Marketing Manager 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 Marketing Managers?: 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.
Does an MBA add to marketing manager pay in Virginia?: MBA-credentialed marketing managers in Virginia typically start 15-25% above non-MBA peers and reach VP-marketing 2-4 years sooner on the median path. The $80-200K MBA tuition + 2-year earnings gap takes 5-10 years to break even — better at top-15 programs with strong CPG/tech recruiting pipelines, weaker at regional MBAs. For demand-gen and growth-marketing tracks, demonstrated revenue impact and analytics chops often beat MBA pedigree on pay outcomes.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 11-2021, 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 Marketing Manager 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.