Charlottesville, VA Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in Charlottesville, VA - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Charlottesville, VA moved from $51,740 in May 2024 to $55,180 in May 2025 (+6.6%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Charlottesville, VA sits +3.5 pp ahead of that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Waiters and Waitresses shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Charlottesville, VA
Waiters and Waitresses publishes $44,030 here versus $35,230 nationally (+25.0%; 2,140metro-area jobs). Next is Cashiers at $30,930 locally versus $32,880 nationally (-5.9%).
- Waiters and Waitresses$44,030 in Charlottesville, VA sits 25.0% above the national Waiters and Waitresses median of $35,230 (2,140 published local jobs).
- Cashiers$30,930 in Charlottesville, VA sits 5.9% below the national Cashiers median of $32,880 (2,110 published local jobs).
- Retail Salespersons$34,210 in Charlottesville, VA sits 3.4% below the national Retail Salespersons median of $35,410 (2,540 published local jobs).
- Fast Food and Counter Workers$30,150 in Charlottesville, VA sits 3.4% below the national Fast Food and Counter Workers median of $31,200 (2,800 published local jobs).
Waiters and Waitresses and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Charlottesville, VA; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 16820 · Charlottesville, VA $70K mean
MEAN-MEGA · RPP-MID · OCC-MID · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-AHEAD · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-MEGA #48/528
- RPP-MID 99.1
- OCC-MID 344 occs
- TOP-LEAD Chief Executives · $318K
- EMP-MIX Physicians,…
- TREND-AHEAD +3.5 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Norwich-New Lond…
- BOOK-FULL 324 rows · May 2025
Read with Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT ($5 on published-row mean) · Highest-paying careers
Instrument codes from this MSA’s OEWS published-row mean, BEA RPP, occupation book, employment lead, All Occupations pay change, and nearest peer — not a moving recommendation.
Published-row mean neighbourhood around Charlottesville, VA
Employment scale inside Charlottesville, VA's top-pay list
Physicians, All Other and Nurse Practitioners lead published employment inside Charlottesville, VA's top-pay sample — order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Physicians, All Other 1,000 jobs · $286,090
- 2. Nurse Practitioners 480 jobs · $142,950
- 3. Financial Managers 450 jobs · $170,250
- 4. Managers, All Other 440 jobs · $141,770
- 5. Computer and Information Systems Managers 390 jobs · $163,230
- 6. Lawyers 390 jobs · $149,430
- 7. Pharmacists 320 jobs · $142,220
- 8. Computer Occupations, All Other 220 jobs · $144,580
- 9. Sales Managers 210 jobs · $169,390
- 10. Chief Executives 180 jobs · $317,900
- 11. Human Resources Managers 150 jobs · $155,290
- 12. Public Relations Managers 140 jobs · $140,170
- 13. Dentists, General 130 jobs · $162,400
- 14. Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary 130 jobs · $135,930
- 15. Marketing Managers 120 jobs · $165,980
- 16. Physical Scientists, All Other 100 jobs · $144,580
- 17. Architectural and Engineering Managers 90 jobs · $168,400
- 18. Purchasing Managers 70 jobs · $150,260
Occupations Tracked
344
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$69,534
employment-weighted, 324 complete rows
Top Salary
$317,900
Chief Executives
Cost of Living
99.1
1% below US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Charlottesville, VA
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chief Executives | $317,900 |
| 2 | Physicians, All Other | $286,090 |
| 3 | Nurse Anesthetists | $241,460 |
| 4 | Financial Managers | $170,250 |
| 5 | Sales Managers | $169,390 |
| 6 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $168,400 |
| 7 | Marketing Managers | $165,980 |
| 8 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $163,230 |
| 9 | Dentists, General | $162,400 |
| 10 | Human Resources Managers | $155,290 |
| 11 | Engineers, All Other | $153,340 |
| 12 | Purchasing Managers | $150,260 |
| 13 | Data Scientists | $149,800 |
| 14 | Lawyers | $149,430 |
| 15 | Physicists | $148,950 |
| 16 | Computer and Information Research Scientists | $144,580 |
| 17 | Computer Occupations, All Other | $144,580 |
| 18 | Physical Scientists, All Other | $144,580 |
| 19 | Nurse Practitioners | $142,950 |
| 20 | Pharmacists | $142,220 |
| 21 | Managers, All Other | $141,770 |
| 22 | Public Relations Managers | $140,170 |
| 23 | Legal Support Workers, All Other | $139,240 |
| 24 | Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $135,930 |
| 25 | Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | $134,810 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Charlottesville, VA
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | $28,320 |
| Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists | $28,720 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | $29,700 |
| Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers | $29,730 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $29,800 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $30,150 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $30,160 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $30,210 |
| Cashiers | $30,930 |
| Packers and Packagers, Hand | $31,580 |
Other BLS Wage Areas in VA
Other metropolitan or nonmetropolitan OEWS areas assigned to the same state. Cross-state pay and employment peers live in Nationwide similar metros below.
Nationwide metros with similar published-row mean pay or employment scale
Two OEWS peer sets outside VA. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($69,534 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on BLS OEWS employment-weighted published-row mean wage and summed occupation employment. Employment peers exclude metros already listed in the mean-wage column so the two link sets stay distinct. Mean wage here is not a worker-level median.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Related federal data
Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Occupation rows use BLS OEWS May 2025. The metro benchmark is WageDex's employment-weighted mean of published occupation means; where BEA RPP is available, the price-level figure divides that benchmark by the published area parity. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.