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Highest Paying Jobs in Virginia

Ranked by the average of the local median wages BLS publishes for Virginia, among 88 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
15Management Analysts$120,61579,700
16Computer Systems Analysts$120,14726,310
17Project Management Specialists$118,36156,440
18Network and Computer Systems Administrators$115,19115,150
19Financial and Investment Analysts$105,81914,380
20Civil Engineers$98,63413,450
21Logisticians$98,51613,130
22Public Relations Specialists$96,69327,380
23Registered Nurses$95,218101,840
24Accountants and Auditors$94,75263,120
25Buyers and Purchasing Agents$92,51526,030

Highest-paying jobs in Virginia

This ranking covers 88 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, Buyers and Purchasing Agents, averages $92,515.

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.