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Highest Paying Jobs in Virginia

Ranked by the average of the local median wages BLS publishes for Virginia, among 97 occupations with at least 1,000 workers in the state.

Highest paying occupations in Virginia
#OccupationAverage median wageWorkers in state
1Public Relations Managers$191,59010,290
2Computer and Information Systems Managers$189,92526,000
3Lawyers$185,82055,480
4Financial Managers$179,18435,340
5Marketing Managers$176,37211,580
6Sales Managers$170,39112,930
7Computer Network Architects$151,63111,850
8Software Developers$148,49290,120
9Information Security Analysts$143,84320,870
10General and Operations Managers$138,440167,080
11Medical and Health Services Managers$133,94118,900
12Data Scientists$128,19611,420
13Operations Research Analysts$125,3309,830
14Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers$122,53610,350
15Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary$120,85512,940
16Management Analysts$120,61579,700
17Computer Systems Analysts$120,14726,310
18Project Management Specialists$118,36156,440
19Network and Computer Systems Administrators$115,19115,150
20Financial and Investment Analysts$105,81914,380
21Civil Engineers$98,63413,450
22Logisticians$98,51613,130
23Public Relations Specialists$96,69327,380
24Registered Nurses$95,218101,840
25Accountants and Auditors$94,75263,120

Highest-paying jobs in Virginia

This ranking covers 97 occupations that employ at least 1,000 people in Virginia. The figure used is the employment-weighted average of the local median wages published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, May 2025) for the state's wage areas. Public Relations Managers comes first at $191,590 a year; number 25 on the list, Accountants and Auditors, averages $94,752.

Each occupation links to its Virginia page with the wage areas, the counties and what is left after taxes and living costs. Pay is only part of the picture, so compare it with local rents and taxes before choosing where to work.