Richmond, VA Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in Richmond, VA - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Richmond, VA moved from $50,020 in May 2024 to $51,460 in May 2025 (+2.9%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Richmond, VA sits -0.2 pp near 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.
Bartenders shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Richmond, VA
Bartenders publishes $46,070 here versus $34,340 nationally (+34.2%; 2,110metro-area jobs). Next is Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics at $61,510 locally versus $50,620 nationally (+21.5%).
- Bartenders$46,070 in Richmond, VA sits 34.2% above the national Bartenders median of $34,340 (2,110 published local jobs).
- Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics$61,510 in Richmond, VA sits 21.5% above the national Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics median of $50,620 (2,930 published local jobs).
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides$29,360 in Richmond, VA sits 18.0% below the national Home Health and Personal Care Aides median of $35,800 (11,570 published local jobs).
- Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$62,720 in Richmond, VA sits 17.7% below the national Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers median of $76,210 (3,410 published local jobs).
Bartenders and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Richmond, VA; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 40060 · Richmond, VA $68K mean
MEAN-HIGH · RPP-MID · OCC-MOST · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-HIGH #61/528
- RPP-MID 97.9
- OCC-MOST 592 occs
- TOP-LEAD Cardiologists · $450K
- EMP-MIX Financial Ma…
- TREND-INLINE -0.2 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Massachusetts no…
- BOOK-FULL 562 rows · May 2025
Read with Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area ($60 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 Richmond, VA
Employment scale inside Richmond, VA's top-pay list
Financial Managers and Computer and Information Systems Managers lead published employment inside Richmond, VA's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Financial Managers 3,480 jobs · $173,140
- 2. Computer and Information Systems Managers 1,900 jobs · $180,640
- 3. Physicians, All Other 1,760 jobs · $284,090
- 4. Sales Managers 1,320 jobs · $168,590
- 5. Marketing Managers 1,090 jobs · $174,130
- 6. Human Resources Managers 960 jobs · $152,190
- 7. Chief Executives 820 jobs · $326,160
- 8. Dentists, General 650 jobs · $218,880
- 9. Architectural and Engineering Managers 570 jobs · $167,170
- 10. Purchasing Managers 490 jobs · $147,410
- 11. Family Medicine Physicians 410 jobs · $208,750
- 12. Public Relations Managers 380 jobs · $160,540
- 13. Obstetricians and Gynecologists 250 jobs · $224,240
- 14. Computer and Information Research Scientists 160 jobs · $162,910
- 15. Pediatricians, General 130 jobs · $165,370
- 16. Compensation and Benefits Managers 130 jobs · $157,370
- 17. Cardiologists 120 jobs · $450,480
- 18. Psychologists, All Other 90 jobs · $152,050
Occupations Tracked
592
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$68,256
employment-weighted, 562 complete rows
Top Salary
$450,480
Cardiologists
Cost of Living
97.9
2% below US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Richmond, VA
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiologists | $450,480 |
| 2 | Chief Executives | $326,160 |
| 3 | Psychiatrists | $290,900 |
| 4 | Physicians, All Other | $284,090 |
| 5 | Surgeons, All Other | $259,310 |
| 6 | Physicians, Pathologists | $240,220 |
| 7 | Nurse Anesthetists | $235,320 |
| 8 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $224,240 |
| 9 | Dentists, General | $218,880 |
| 10 | Physicists | $218,290 |
| 11 | Family Medicine Physicians | $208,750 |
| 12 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $180,640 |
| 13 | Marketing Managers | $174,130 |
| 14 | Financial Managers | $173,140 |
| 15 | Podiatrists | $168,600 |
| 16 | Sales Managers | $168,590 |
| 17 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $167,170 |
| 18 | Pediatricians, General | $165,370 |
| 19 | Computer and Information Research Scientists | $162,910 |
| 20 | Advertising and Promotions Managers | $161,040 |
| 21 | Public Relations Managers | $160,540 |
| 22 | Compensation and Benefits Managers | $157,370 |
| 23 | Human Resources Managers | $152,190 |
| 24 | Psychologists, All Other | $152,050 |
| 25 | Purchasing Managers | $147,410 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Richmond, VA
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Parking Attendants | $25,990 |
| Shampooers | $27,340 |
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | $27,610 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $28,590 |
| Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials | $28,830 |
| Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers | $28,860 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $29,250 |
| Cooks, Short Order | $29,280 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | $29,360 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $29,480 |
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 ($68,256 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Similar employment scale
Nearest headcount peers (floor 100,000 summed published jobs), distinct from the mean-wage column.
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 Richmond, VA? ▼
Which published medians lead Richmond, VA? ▼
What is the cost of living in Richmond, VA? ▼
Where does BLS salary data for Richmond, VA come from? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Richmond, VA wage figures in a real decision
- Cardiologists leads published medians in Richmond, VA at $450,480/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Cardiologists
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $68,256 adjusts to about $69,750 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 97.9. 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.