Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data — updated September 10, 2026.
| Virginia | National | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual salary | $136,460 | $142,991 | -5% |
| Median hourly wage | $65.61 | $68.75 | -5% |
Adjusted for local price levels (100 = national average), the cost-adjusted median is $134,975.
| City | Median | Entry Level | Experienced | Cost of Living |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Beach | $129,625 | $93,100 | $171,500 | 100 |
The median annual salary for a Software Engineer in Virginia is $136,460, or about $65.61 per hour, according to BLS OEWS data.
The national median for Software Engineers is $142,991. Virginia is -5% below the national median.
Entry-level software engineers in Virginia typically earn from $93,100 depending on the city and employer.
With 88,280 software engineer jobs on record and a median salary of $136,460, Virginia offers competitive pay compared to the rest of the country.
By median annual wage, software engineers rank 50 of the 747 occupations reported in Virginia — higher than 93% of them.
Among occupations in the same job family, Database Architects at $160,360, Computer and Information Research Scientists at $157,390, Mathematicians at $148,030 — all figures are median annual wages for Virginia.
No. Every figure on this page is a gross (pre-tax) wage. Virginia levies a state income tax, so take-home pay is lower than the gross figures shown here. The state's cost of living index is 104.0 (100 = national average).
By median annual wage, software engineers rank 50 of the 747 occupations reported in Virginia — higher than 93% of them.
| Occupation in the same job family | Median in Virginia | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Database Architects | $160,360 | $5,260 |
| Computer and Information Research Scientists | $157,390 | $3,590 |
| Mathematicians | $148,030 | $400 |
| Computer Network Architects | $141,340 | $9,380 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | $139,030 | $17,000 |
| Information Security Analysts | $134,900 | $19,120 |
Virginia levies a state income tax, so take-home pay is lower than the gross figures shown here. The state's cost of living index is 104.0 (100 = national average).
Ranking and comparison figures come from the same BLS OEWS release as the rest of this page, which covers 747 occupations in Virginia.