Virginia · SOC 17-2041
Chemical Engineer Salary in Virginia
VerifiedPublished wages for chemical engineers in Virginia, straight from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2024 release — the full percentile distribution, employment concentration, and metro detail.
Chemical Engineers in Virginia earn a median of $132,550 per year ($139,270 mean), per BLS OEWS May 2024. The middle 50% earn $103,650–$152,790; the top 10% earn $171,930. That is 9% above the national median of $121,860, ranking Virginia #5 of 43 states that publish this occupation.
Median wage
Verified$132,550
+9% vs national
Top 10% earn
$171,930
90th percentile
Employed in state
1,020
Reliability Low (43.7% RSE)
Chemical Engineer pay distribution — Virginia vs national
Every figure below is a published BLS percentile. Bars share one scale, so the two distributions compare directly.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs national |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileentry / low | $92,630 | +18% |
| 25th percentile | $103,650 | +8% |
| Median50th percentile | $132,550 | +9% |
| 75th percentile | $152,790 | — |
| 90th percentiletop earners | $171,930 | -6% |
| Meanaverage | $139,270 | +8% |
Where chemical engineers earn most in Virginia
Metro areas in Virginia where BLS publishes a wage for SOC 17-2041. Metros BLS withholds are not listed.
| Metro area | Median | Top 10% | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, D.C.Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $129,040 | $182,810 | 870 |
Virginia engineering labor market
Concentration and pay level across all engineering occupations BLS publishes for this state.
Location quotient
1.91
Jobs per 1,000
0.25
State rank (pay)
#5 of 43
All engineering roles
$126,416
A location quotient of 1.91 means Virginia employs chemical engineers at a meaningfully higher rate than the country as a whole — a genuine cluster for this discipline.
Frequently asked questions
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Source details
Published wage from BLS OEWS May 2024 for SOC 17-2041 (Chemical Engineers), Virginia (state).
Benchmarks come from published government wage data via BLS OEWS. Local and emerging-role figures are labeled estimates. Full methodology →