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.
Based on wage level, year-over-year wage growth, and regional-price-parity-adjusted purchasing power from BLS and BEA sources, not job availability, industry mix, or day-to-day livability.
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
What is the average salary in Charlottesville, VA? ▼
Which published medians lead Charlottesville, VA? ▼
What is the cost of living in Charlottesville, VA? ▼
Where does BLS salary data for Charlottesville, VA come from? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Charlottesville, VA wage figures in a real decision
- Chief Executives leads published medians in Charlottesville, VA at $317,900/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Chief Executives
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $69,534 adjusts to about $70,133 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 99.1. Salary vs cost of living
- Compare this metropolitan statistical area against the statewide occupation table for VA before treating one geography as the other. State wage page
BLS OEWS estimates reflect the May 2025 reference period; small occupation-area cells can be suppressed, and figures are not employer offers.
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.