What Computer Systems Analysts earn in Falls Church city, VA
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $127,040: the median annual pay for Computer Systems Analysts in Falls Church city, VA. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $61.08 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $128,780, which is 1.4% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 18,620 people working in this occupation across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Falls Church city, VA has roughly 14,710 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Computer Systems Analysts in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $77,910 a year ($37.46 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $195,120 or more ($93.81 an hour). That is a gap of $117,210 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $99,690 at the 25th percentile and $161,310 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.5 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Converted to an hourly wage, the median for Computer Systems Analysts in Falls Church city, VA is $61.08. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $127,040, and the same salary is $10,587 a month before taxes or about $4,886 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $43.87 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Computer Systems Analysts
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Computer Systems Analysts this way: "Analyze science, engineering, business, and other data processing problems to develop and implement solutions to complex applications problems, system administration issues, or network concerns. Perform systems management and integration functions, improve existing computer systems, and review computer system capabilities, workflow, and schedule limitations. May analyze or recommend commercially available software."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Provide staff and users with assistance solving computer-related problems, such as malfunctions and program problems"; "Test, maintain, and monitor computer programs and systems, including coordinating the installation of computer programs and systems"; "Use object-oriented programming languages, as well as client and server applications development processes and multimedia and Internet technology"; "Confer with clients regarding the nature of the information processing or computation needs a computer program is to address".
Job outlook for Computer Systems Analysts
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 544,400 jobs in 2025 to 587,200 in 2035, a change of +7.9%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 32,900 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 6.0% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $105,850 for this occupation; the Falls Church city, VA median of $127,040 is 20.0% above it.
How pay in Falls Church city, VA compares
Compared with the Virginia average
Falls Church city, VA pays above the state benchmark. The Virginia employment-weighted average for Computer Systems Analysts is $120,147; the local median of $127,040 beats it by $6,893, or 5.7%. Within Virginia, Falls Church city, VA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Computer Systems Analysts is $110,999 across the contiguous United States. At $127,040, Falls Church city, VA pays $16,041 more, which is 14.4% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Falls Church city, VA
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Falls Church city, VA, Computer Systems Analysts ranks number 79 by median pay, ahead of about 87% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $195,190 a year, which is $68,150 more than the median for Computer Systems Analysts.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $127,040 does not arrive in full. We model a single filer with wage income only, the standard deduction and tax-year 2025 rules, and we keep the three tax layers apart: federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and state income tax. Together they take $35,780 a year, which leaves $91,260, or $7,605 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $28 goes to taxes and $72 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 28.2%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $111,290. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 24% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $19,557, an effective 15.4% of gross pay, well below the 24% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $7,876 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,842. FICA totals $9,719, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Virginia
Virginia income tax on this salary is $6,505 a year, or 5.1% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 33% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $542 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Falls Church city, VA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Falls Church city, VA show an average adjusted gross income of $209,632 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 19.9% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 13.4%, compared with the 15.4% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Falls Church city, VA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Falls Church city, VA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $91,260 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Falls Church city, VA is $2,204 a month, or $26,448 a year. A two-bedroom costs $2,438 a month. For Computer Systems Analysts, a one-bedroom absorbs 29.0% of take-home pay and 20.8% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 2.7% of gross pay for Computer Systems Analysts in Falls Church city, VA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Virginia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,523 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $597, for $2,119 in total. Gasoline in Virginia averages $3.09 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,429.
What is left over
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $33,432 a year, 37% of take-home pay. That leaves $57,828 a year, or $4,819 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 45.5% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Falls Church city, VA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Falls Church city, VA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Falls Church city, VA, set beside the Virginia and national medians.
Property taxes in Falls Church city, VA
Homeowners in Falls Church city, VA pay a median of $10,001 a year in real estate taxes, 258% above the Virginia median of $2,790 and 221% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $1,055,600, the median tax bill is 0.95% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Computer Systems Analysts median of $127,040, a tax bill of that size would equal 7.9% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Falls Church city, VA
Renters in Falls Church city, VA pay a median gross rent of $2,190 a month in the Census survey, 39% above the Virginia median of $1,579. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,204 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $1,055,600, 175% above the Virginia median of $383,700. Median household income is $143,262, 54% above the Virginia median of $93,170, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 18.5% of that income.
Commuting in Falls Church city, VA
Workers in Falls Church city, VA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.7 minutes each way, 5% above the Virginia average of 27.3. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.8 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 32.7% of workers in Falls Church city, VA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Computer Systems Analysts afford to live in Falls Church city, VA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $127,040 that ceiling is $3,176 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,204 is $972 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $42.38 an hour; the median for Computer Systems Analysts is $61.08, which is 44% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $43.87 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 11.6 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,438 a month means $1,219 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $11,820 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $69,648.
How fast you can save
At $4,819 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Computer Systems Analysts pay in Falls Church city, VA
What is the hourly wage for Computer Systems Analysts in Falls Church city, VA?
The median is $61.08 per hour, based on $127,040 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $37.46 at the 10th percentile to $93.81 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Computer Systems Analysts in Falls Church city, VA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $127,040 becomes $91,260 a year. That is $7,605 a month, $3,510 every two weeks or $1,755 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Computer Systems Analysts in Falls Church city, VA?
Total taxes are $35,780 a year, an effective rate of 28.2%: $19,557 federal income tax, $9,719 FICA and $6,505 Virginia income tax.
Is pay for Computer Systems Analysts in Falls Church city, VA above the Virginia average?
Yes. The local median of $127,040 is +5.7% versus the Virginia average of $120,147, a difference of $6,893 a year.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Computer Systems Analysts salary in Falls Church city, VA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,204 a month against take-home pay of $7,605, which is 29.0% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,176 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Computer Systems Analysts in Falls Church city, VA?
About $4,819 a month ($57,828 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $33,432 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Falls Church city, VA at the 30% guideline?
$42.38 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $26,448 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Computer Systems Analysts is $61.08.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Virginia rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.