Lawyers Salary in Virginia

The median for lawyers in Virginia is $167,210 a year, somewhat above the national $159,670 (+5%); the state ranks 7th of 51 states by median. Lawyers earn 3.0 times the median across all occupations in Virginia ($55,690). Among neighbouring states, District of Columbia pays more (up to $195,190 in District of Columbia) and Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia and Kentucky pay less (down to $101,550 in Kentucky). Virginia employs 18,580 lawyers, 4.52 per 1,000 jobs, the 12th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 0.93 is close to the national share.

Virginia vs the United States, May 2025

Lawyers: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Virginia and nationally, May 2025
AreaBasisPercentile wageMeanEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
10th25thMedian75th90th
VirginiaHourly$38.14$51.78$80.39$99.75$153.95$86.1718,5804.520.93
Annual$79,330$107,710$167,210$207,480$320,220$179,240
United StatesHourly$37.67$49.51$76.76$106.43$169.04$89.35754,500––
Annual$78,360$102,990$159,670$221,370$351,600$185,840
$0$100k$200k$300k$400k10th10th: $79,330$79,33025th25th: $107,710$107,710MedianMedian: $167,210$167,21075th75th: $207,480$207,48090th90th: $320,220$320,220US median
Virginia annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.
Rank by median
7th of 51 states
Rank by employment
12th of 51 states
Location quotient
0.93
Jobs per 1,000
4.52

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Virginia's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in Virginia

11 metropolitan areas and 4 nonmetropolitan areas touching Virginia publish a row for lawyers, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

AreaMedian hourlyMedian annual10th pct (annual)90th pct (annual)EmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$93.84$195,190$106,520$382,89046,84014.943.08
Charlottesville, VA$71.84$149,430$75,770$289,5503903.420.71
Richmond, VA$69.67$144,910$77,210$342,1103,7805.731.18
Roanoke, VA$64.63$134,440$76,870$253,7504803.120.64
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC$64.13$133,380$75,690$313,6802,2802.990.62
Harrisonburg, VA$61.09$127,070$72,060$233,9101302.020.42
Winchester, VA-WV$59.98$124,760$72,680$210,9401402.130.44
Lynchburg, VA$58.71$122,110$69,590$252,1402502.530.52
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA$51.71$107,560$75,880$242,7503002.500.52
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA$51.20$106,500$63,790$213,2701301.800.37
Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA$49.78$103,530$74,300$199,490801.530.32
Northeast Virginia nonmetropolitan area$70.35$146,320$77,020$195,190801.370.28
Southwest Virginia nonmetropolitan area$49.49$102,950$66,060$189,7903202.730.56
Northwest Virginia nonmetropolitan area$49.08$102,080$76,230$180,0801101.650.34
Southside Virginia nonmetropolitan area$48.45$100,770$75,690$207,2101701.690.35

Neighbouring states

StateMedian hourlyMedian annualEmploymentLocation quotient
Virginia$80.39$167,21018,5800.93
District of Columbia$93.84$195,19033,0709.71
Kentucky$48.82$101,5505,7700.59
Maryland$66.88$139,11013,8101.03
North Carolina$61.40$127,71017,0000.71
Tennessee$65.47$136,1809,0100.57
West Virginia$49.24$102,4202,4400.72

See the national page for Lawyers (every state ranked) and the Virginia wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Virginia estimates.

  • 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.