Richmond, VA

Across all occupations in the Richmond, VA metropolitan area, the median wage is $51,460 a year ($24.74 an hour) and the mean $68,400, May 2025. That median is +1% against the US median of $50,980 and −8% against Virginia's $55,690. BLS counts 660,350 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is cardiologists; the largest is fast food and counter workers.

All occupations: Richmond, VA vs Virginia and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Richmond, VA area, Virginia and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Richmond, VA	Hourly	$14.44	$17.93	$24.74	$38.52	$59.94	$32.89	660,350
Richmond, VA	Annual	$30,030	$37,290	$51,460	$80,120	$124,670	$68,400	660,350
Virginia	Hourly	$14.68	$18.14	$26.78	$42.99	$66.83	$35.60	4,109,320
Virginia	Annual	$30,530	$37,720	$55,690	$89,420	$139,010	$74,040	4,109,320
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

594 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: Virginia. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Richmond, VA

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Cardiologists	$450,480	$216.58	120
2	Chief Executives	$326,160	$156.81	820
3	Psychiatrists	$290,900	$139.86	50
4	Physicians, All Other	$284,090	$136.58	1,760
5	Surgeons, All Other	$259,310	$124.67	**
6	Physicians, Pathologists	$240,220	$115.49	**
7	Nurse Anesthetists	$235,320	$113.13	**
8	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$224,240	$107.81	250
9	Dentists, General	$218,880	$105.23	650
10	Physicists	$218,290	$104.95	40
11	Family Medicine Physicians	$208,750	$100.36	410
12	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Virginia	$180,640	$86.85	1,900
13	Marketing Managers	$174,130	$83.71	1,090
14	Financial Managers in Virginia	$173,140	$83.24	3,480
15	Podiatrists	$168,600	$81.06	40
16	Sales Managers in Virginia	$168,590	$81.05	1,320
17	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$167,170	$80.37	570
18	Pediatricians, General	$165,370	$79.50	130
19	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$162,910	$78.32	160
20	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$161,040	$77.42	50

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Richmond, VA

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Virginia	17,100	25.90	1.04	$29,500
2	Retail Salespersons in Virginia	16,210	24.55	0.98	$33,580
3	General and Operations Managers in Virginia	15,770	23.88	1.06	$108,670
4	Registered Nurses in Virginia	15,700	23.77	1.09	$93,580
5	Cashiers in Virginia	14,460	21.90	1.10	$30,350
6	Stockers and Order Fillers in Virginia	12,300	18.62	1.02	$37,180
7	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Virginia	11,760	17.80	1.34	$58,190
8	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Virginia	11,570	17.53	0.63	$29,360
9	Customer Service Representatives in Virginia	10,960	16.61	0.99	$42,660
10	Office Clerks, General in Virginia	10,890	16.50	1.04	$46,320
11	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Virginia	10,550	15.97	0.84	$40,270
12	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Virginia	9,270	14.04	0.99	$34,200
13	Waiters and Waitresses in Virginia	9,120	13.81	0.95	$38,470
14	Accountants and Auditors in Virginia	7,920	11.99	1.29	$84,220
15	Software Developers in Virginia	7,680	11.63	1.07	$132,120
16	Nursing Assistants in Virginia	6,660	10.08	1.08	$42,720
17	First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Virginia	6,490	9.84	1.06	$64,690
18	Project Management Specialists in Virginia	6,380	9.66	1.41	$102,170
19	Management Analysts in Virginia	6,340	9.60	1.66	$95,660
20	Cooks, Restaurant in Virginia	6,160	9.32	1.03	$37,080

Most concentrated occupations in Richmond, VA

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Life Scientists, All Other	6.70	210	0.32	$70,050
2	Nuclear Engineers	5.40	350	0.53	$140,460
3	Chemical Plant and System Operators	4.83	340	0.52	$77,930
4	Insulation Workers, Mechanical	3.75	410	0.62	$49,460
5	Surgical Assistants	3.56	340	0.51	$51,030
6	Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary	3.23	170	0.26	$65,090
7	Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles	3.14	110	0.17	$45,230
8	Helpers--Carpenters	3.02	280	0.42	$42,660
9	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	2.96	210	0.31	$89,380
10	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	2.81	250	0.38	$224,240

Occupation groups in Richmond, VA

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$129,880	$149,370	39,710	60.14	0.84
Computer and Mathematical	$114,170	$117,230	24,420	36.98	1.09
Legal	$98,570	$131,120	6,750	10.23	1.22
Architecture and Engineering	$95,070	$100,230	8,800	13.33	0.79
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$87,380	$103,420	42,560	64.45	1.02
Business and Financial Operations	$82,660	$93,090	61,390	92.97	1.37
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$79,520	$100,100	6,870	10.41	1.10
Educational Instruction and Library	$60,140	$63,210	38,670	58.57	1.00
Community and Social Service	$60,030	$62,990	13,990	21.18	1.23
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$59,200	$66,910	8,170	12.37	0.94
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$59,190	$61,550	26,430	40.02	1.02
Construction and Extraction	$52,310	$57,560	29,810	45.14	1.09
Protective Service	$50,170	$55,730	18,820	28.50	1.17
Office and Administrative Support	$47,110	$50,660	73,590	111.44	0.98
Production	$46,480	$50,860	25,330	38.37	0.70
Transportation and Material Moving	$43,990	$46,960	58,980	89.31	1.02
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$40,560	$46,220	590	0.89	0.32
Sales and Related	$37,630	$54,870	61,370	92.94	1.08
Healthcare Support	$37,270	$39,680	27,580	41.77	0.82
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$35,690	$37,850	18,870	28.58	0.98
Personal Care and Service	$35,000	$38,420	15,140	22.93	1.10
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$34,300	$37,490	52,500	79.50	0.90

Every occupation in Virginia, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 594 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Richmond, VA estimates (area 40060).

*: Wage estimate not available.
**: Employment estimate not available.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Richmond, VA area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.