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 RN 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.

How wide is the wage spread in Virginia?

P10 to P90 spans $64,370 to $124,040. 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 RN 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.

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 does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Virginia?

BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in Virginia typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.

Travel RN vs staff RN in Virginia — which earns more on a real basis?

Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Virginia, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

How Much Do Registered Nurses Make in Virginia? $89K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Headline RN pay in Virginia is $88,820. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $87,653.
Quartile range $77,650 (bottom 25%) to $100,920 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $64,370 to $124,040.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
Nominal: #20/51 · Real: #38/51 — ranking shifts by 18 positions after RPP.
Multistate license: Virginia participates in the NLC compact, useful for travel-RN flexibility.

Wage breakdown — Virginia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$64,370	$63,524
P25 (lower quartile)	$77,650	$76,630
P50 (median)	$88,820	$87,653
P75 (upper quartile)	$100,920	$99,594
P90 (top tier)	$124,040	$122,411
Mean	$90,930	$89,736
Employment	77,420 RNs 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 (RN)	$88,820	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$10,787	12.1% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$4,361	2–5.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,795	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$66,877	75.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$65,999	÷ (101.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.9% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $66,877 (75.3% of gross). After the 101.3 RPP, real take-home is $65,999.

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 $93,600 for RNs with mean pay of $98,430 and total employment of 3,282,010. Virginia sits at #20 on nominal pay and #38 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Virginia falls 18 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Licensure — Virginia (NLC)

Virginia participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), with effective participation since 2017. RNs holding a multistate license issued by another Compact state may practice in Virginia without applying for a separate Virginia license. Virginia-issued multistate licenses are reciprocally recognized in 36 other Compact states (37 jurisdictions total in 2026), eliminating the per-state endorsement workflow ($100–$500 + 4–16 week processing) for travel and per-diem RN work.

Virginia has been a Compact participant for 9 years as of 2026, putting it among the long-tenured members where the Compact pathway is the established norm at most employers and travel agencies.

Source: NCSBN compact implementation tracker — re-synced quarterly. See NLC reciprocity hub for the cross-state matrix and changelog for status changes.

Frequently asked questions

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 RN 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.
How wide is the wage spread in Virginia?: P10 to P90 spans $64,370 to $124,040. 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 RN 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.
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 does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Virginia?: BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in Virginia typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.
Travel RN vs staff RN in Virginia — which earns more on a real basis?: Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Virginia, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1141, 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 RN 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.