Salary · VA · SOC 29-2081

Optician salary in Virginia, per year and per hour

BLS data for May 2025. Median, mean, and percentile pay for opticians, dispensing in Virginia, with every metro area BLS publishes.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates, released May 15, 2026. Publisher page

Quick answer

The median pay for opticians, dispensing in Virginia was $55,820 a year, or $26.84 an hour, in May 2025 (BLS). The middle 80% earned $36,360 to $77,460. About 1,860 were employed.

Run it in Rivvi

Benchmark optician pay in Virginia

Benchmark in Rivvi

Free to start, no card. Opens Rivvi, the AI workspace for healthcare teams, with this question filled in.

Optician pay in Virginia vs the US

Optician wages in Virginia and the US, May 2025
Measure	VA annual	VA hourly	US annual
Median (50th percentile)	$55,820	$26.84	$47,260
Mean (average)	$55,110	$26.50	$51,770
10th percentile	$36,360	$17.48	$35,610
25th percentile	$43,730	$21.03	$38,820
75th percentile	$63,950	$30.75	$61,700
90th percentile	$77,460	$37.24	$76,750

Employment in Virginia: 1,860. Location quotient: 0.96 (1.0 = the national share of jobs).

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Publisher page

Optician salary by metro area in Virginia

Optician median wage by metro area, Virginia
Metro area	Median annual	Median hourly	Employed
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	$52,390	$25.19	400
Richmond, VA	$55,020	$26.45	310
Roanoke, VA	$52,650	$25.31	90
Charlottesville, VA	$57,140	$27.47	60
Lynchburg, VA	$48,890	$23.51	50
Winchester, VA-WV	$58,190	$27.98	40
Harrisonburg, VA	$62,980	$30.28	30
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$59,520	$28.62	1,080
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA	$38,510	$18.52	110

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Publisher page

Put this salary on your site

Free for career sites and schools. The box shows the BLS figures and period and links back here.

Optician salary in Virginia

Median pay: $55,820 a year ($26.84 an hour)

Middle 80% earn $36,360 to $77,460 a year

Employed: 1,860

BLS OEWS, May 2025. Source: Rivvi

HTML to paste on your site

<div style="font:14px/1.45 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#222;border:1px solid #E6E6EE;border-radius:12px;padding:14px 16px;max-width:360px;background:#fff"><div style="font-weight:600;font-size:15px;margin-bottom:6px">Optician salary in Virginia</div><div style="margin:2px 0">Median pay: <strong>$55,820</strong> a year ($26.84 an hour)</div><div style="margin:2px 0">Middle 80% earn $36,360 to $77,460 a year</div><div style="margin:2px 0">Employed: 1,860</div><div style="margin-top:8px;font-size:12px;color:#555">BLS OEWS, May 2025. Source: <a href="https://rivvi.ai/salary/optician/va" style="color:#3C38C9">Rivvi</a></div></div>

Questions

How much does an Optician make per hour in Virginia?

The median hourly wage was $26.84 in May 2025, per BLS. The 10th percentile was $17.48 and the 90th was $37.24.

What is the average Optician salary in Virginia?

BLS reports a mean (average) of $55,110 a year and a median of $55,820 for May 2025. The median is the middle wage; the mean is pulled up by the highest earners.

Do opticians, dispensing in Virginia earn more than the US median?

The Virginia median of $55,820 is 18% higher than the US median of $47,260 (BLS, May 2025).

How does Virginia rank for optician pay?

Virginia ranks 11 of 51 states (plus DC) by median annual wage for opticians, dispensing (BLS, May 2025).

Where do these numbers come from?

The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates, SOC 29-2081. Figures BLS did not publish are left out.