Skilled Wages

Boilermaker salary in Virginia

Median $32.47 an hour for 150 boilermakers, May 2025, with the union scale by county, the job trend since 1999 and the state's own outlook.

$32.47/hrMedian hourly wageVirginia, May data
$67,540/yrMedian annual payfull-time equivalent
$19.88 – $37.7510th to 90th percentilehourly range
150Jobs countedemployer survey

Data compiled by Skilled WagesBLS OEWS May 2025; prevailing wage as of 2026-11-13

Boilermaker pay in Virginia: the full range

Wage percentiles, VirginiaMarket wage, 10th-90th pctU.S. reference$10$20$30$40$50$60/hrVirginia: 10th $19.88 · 25th $26.15 · median $32.47 · 75th $36.14 · 90th $37.75Virginia$32.47$19.88$37.75United States: 10th $24.28 · 25th $31.13 · median $36.74 · 75th $45.88 · 90th $53.06United States$36.74
Hourly wage percentiles for boilermakers: Virginia vs United States, May 2025.

Virginia ranks 30th of 37 states for median boilermaker pay, and 32nd once adjusted for cost of living (the cost-of-living-adjusted median is $32.12). 150 boilermakers work in the state. The top 10% earn 1.9× what the bottom 10% earn.

Career stage (approximate)HourlyAnnualWhere it sits in the distribution
Apprentice / entry level$19.88 – $26.15$41,350 – $54,390roughly the 10th to 25th percentile
Journeyman$26.15 – $36.14$54,390 – $75,170the middle half, around the median
Master, foreman or specialist$36.14 – $37.75$75,170 – $78,520the 75th to 90th percentile and above

Where does your pay fall?



Boilermaker pay by metro in Virginia

Ranked median wages$0$10$20$30$40/hrVirginia Beach: $32.86Virginia Beach$32.86
Median hourly wage for boilermakers by metro area in Virginia, May 2025.
Metro10thMedian $/hr90thJobsvs state
Virginia Beach$23.18$32.86$37.58901% above

Boilermaker wages in Virginia over time

Virginia, 1999-2025VirginiaUnited StatesSOC 2010SOC 2018 / Method changeExact wages$10$20$30$40200020052010201520202025$36.74United States$32.47Virginia
Median hourly wage for boilermakers, Virginia vs United States, 1999–2025, nominal dollars.
Table
YearVirginia $/hrIn 2025 $US $/hrJobs
1999$16.95$32.75$18.09570
2000$18.24$34.10$17.80590
2001$18.12$32.94$19.06530
2002$18.32$32.78$20.17490
2003$17.99$31.48$20.79380
2004$17.76$30.27$21.68530
2005$19.53$32.19$23.10570
2006$19.83$31.67$22.58540
2007$22.14$34.38$24.38910
2008$22.33$33.39$25.13630
2009$23.02$34.54$26.97750
2010$21.83$32.23$26.27550
2011$22.56$32.29$27.36510
2012$23.01$32.27$27.19330
2013$24.19$33.43$27.74240
2014$24.61$33.47$28.78290
2015$25.07$34.05$28.90300
2016$26.11$35.02$29.84400
2017$27.22$35.75$29.93380
2018$26.45$33.91$29.88370
2019$26.62$33.52$30.34270
2020$26.20$32.59$31.42310
2021$23.72$28.18$30.91660
2022$24.87$27.36$32.17510
2023$27.98$29.56$34.20280
2024$29.06$29.82$35.26200
2025$32.47$32.47$36.74150

In today's dollars, the median boilermaker wage in Virginia changed by -4.6% over the last ten years of data and by -3.1% since 2019.

Are there more boilermaker jobs in Virginia?

0.0Jobs per 1,000 in the stateconcentration 0.6× the US share, 26th of 33 states

BLS counted 150 boilermakers in Virginia in May 2025, an estimate with a relative standard error of 12%. With fewer than 3,000 jobs or a wide margin of error, year-to-year changes are within the survey's noise and are not shown as a trend.

Outlook for boilermakers in Virginia

+1.0%Projected growth in Virginia2024–2034, state agency
20Openings per yeargrowth plus replacements
200Jobs in 2024210 projected for 2034
-1.8%US projected growth2025-35, BLS, for comparison

Virginia's labor market agency projects the number of boilermakers in the state to change by +1.0% between 2024 and 2034, from 200 to 210, with about 20 openings a year. Nationally, BLS projects -1.8% over 2025-35. State counts include the self-employed, so the base is larger than the 150 counted by the BLS employer survey.

Source: Virginia labor market information agency via Projections Central, 2024–2034 long-term projections (state projections page).

Union scale and prevailing wage for boilermakers in Virginia

On federally funded construction in Virginia, contractors must pay boilermakers at least the Davis-Bacon rate for the county. 80 of the 80 counties with a Building rate use a union contract rate (typical package $66.36 an hour including fringe); the rest use a survey rate (typical —). The market median for the state is $32.47.

Union contract rateSurvey rate
Union / prevailing package, $/hr, VAAccomack: n/aAlbemarle: $66.36 (union)Alleghany: n/aAmelia: $66.36 (union)Amherst: $66.36 (union)Appomattox: $66.36 (union)Arlington: $66.36 (union)Augusta: $66.36 (union)Bath: n/aBedford: $66.36 (union)Bland: n/aBotetourt: $66.36 (union)Brunswick: n/aBuchanan: n/aBuckingham: $66.36 (union)Campbell: $66.36 (union)Caroline: $66.36 (union)Carroll: n/aCharles City: $66.36 (union)Charlotte: n/aChesterfield: $66.36 (union)Clarke: $66.36 (union)Craig: $66.36 (union)Culpeper: $66.36 (union)Cumberland: n/aDickenson: n/aDinwiddie: $66.36 (union)Essex: n/aFairfax: $66.36 (union)Fauquier: $66.36 (union)Floyd: $66.36 (union)Fluvanna: $66.36 (union)Franklin: $66.36 (union)Frederick: $66.36 (union)Giles: $66.36 (union)Gloucester: $66.36 (union)Goochland: $66.36 (union)Grayson: n/aGreene: $66.36 (union)Greensville: n/aHalifax: n/aHanover: $66.36 (union)Henrico: $66.36 (union)Henry: n/aHighland: n/aIsle of Wight: $66.36 (union)James City: $66.36 (union)King and Queen: n/aKing George: n/aKing William: $66.36 (union)Lancaster: n/aLee: n/aLoudoun: $66.36 (union)Louisa: n/aLunenburg: n/aMadison: n/aMathews: $66.36 (union)Mecklenburg: n/aMiddlesex: n/aMontgomery: $66.36 (union)Nelson: $66.36 (union)New Kent: $66.36 (union)Northampton: n/aNorthumberland: n/aNottoway: n/aOrange: n/aPage: n/aPatrick: n/aPittsylvania: n/aPowhatan: $66.36 (union)Prince Edward: n/aPrince George: $66.36 (union)Prince William: $66.36 (union)Pulaski: $66.36 (union)Rappahannock: $66.36 (union)Richmond: n/aRoanoke: $66.36 (union)Rockbridge: n/aRockingham: $66.36 (union)Russell: n/aScott: $66.36 (union)Shenandoah: n/aSmyth: n/aSouthampton: n/aSpotsylvania: $66.36 (union)Stafford: $66.36 (union)Surry: n/aSussex: $66.36 (union)Tazewell: n/aWarren: $66.36 (union)Washington: $66.36 (union)Westmoreland: n/aWise: n/aWythe: n/aYork: $66.36 (union)Alexandria: $66.36 (union)Bristol: $66.36 (union)Buena Vista: n/aCharlottesville: $66.36 (union)Chesapeake: $66.36 (union)Colonial Heights: $66.36 (union)Covington: n/aDanville: n/aEmporia: n/aFairfax: $66.36 (union)Falls Church: $66.36 (union)Franklin: n/aFredericksburg: $66.36 (union)Galax: n/aHampton: $66.36 (union)Harrisonburg: $66.36 (union)Hopewell: $66.36 (union)Lexington: n/aLynchburg: $66.36 (union)Manassas: $66.36 (union)Manassas Park: $66.36 (union)Martinsville: n/aNewport News: $66.36 (union)Norfolk: $66.36 (union)Norton: n/aPetersburg: $66.36 (union)Poquoson: $66.36 (union)Portsmouth: $66.36 (union)Radford: $66.36 (union)Richmond: $66.36 (union)Roanoke: $66.36 (union)Salem: $66.36 (union)Staunton: $66.36 (union)Suffolk: $66.36 (union)Virginia Beach: $66.36 (union)Waynesboro: $66.36 (union)Williamsburg: $66.36 (union)Winchester: $66.36 (union)Union / prevailing package, $/hrn/a
Davis-Bacon base + fringe for boilermakers by county, Building construction. Hatched counties use a survey rate rather than a union contract.
CountyRate sourceBaseFringeTotalDetermination
AlbemarleUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260011
AmeliaUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260170
AmherstUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260171
AppomattoxUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260012
ArlingtonUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260013
AugustaUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260014
BedfordUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260171
BotetourtUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260172
BuckinghamUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260173
CampbellUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260171
CarolineUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260015
Charles CityUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260170
ChesterfieldUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260017
ClarkeUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260018
CraigUnion BOIL0045-003 2025-01-01$38.97$27.39$66.36VA20260172

Building construction type, current revisions as of 2026-11-13. Residential, Heavy and Highway rates differ; look them up on the Virginia prevailing wage page. This is not the official wage determination.

Is construction work growing in Virginia?

230.8kConstruction jobsVirginia, 2026-09
-1.1%Change over 12 monthsseasonally unadjusted
Construction employment, 1990-2026100k150k200k250k300k19901995200020052010201520202025231kSep 2026
Construction employment in Virginia (thousands), construction supersector, BLS CES, not seasonally adjusted. Grey bands are recessions.

Contractor pay by county

Average pay at specialty trade contractors establishments by county (all employees, not just boilermakers), from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages. Across the 117 counties that report both years, specialty trade contractor employment (all trades) went from 111,128 in 2015 to 136,979 in 2025, +23.3%.

CountyEstablishmentsEmployeesAverage annual payAvg weekly wage
Goochland County76666$106,792$2,054
Arlington County82336$104,574$2,011
Lexington city34$104,428$2,008
Loudoun County52719,752$103,592$1,992
Northumberland County2997$101,173$1,946
New Kent County56276$92,843$1,785
Manassas city1601,620$91,326$1,756
Newport News city1683,274$89,428$1,720
Alexandria city1081,070$85,539$1,645
Henrico County4629,415$84,149$1,618
Fairfax County1,24312,936$83,139$1,599
Louisa County79596$83,083$1,598

Keep comparing

Boilermaker pay in neighbouring states

Other trades in Virginia

More on Virginia

Questions this page answers

How much do boilermakers make in Virginia?

The median boilermaker in Virginia earned $32.47 an hour ($67,540 a year) in May 2025, 12% below the national median of $36.74. The middle half earn $26.15–$36.14; the top 10% earn more than $37.75.

Where does Virginia rank for boilermaker pay?

Virginia ranks 30th of 37 states for boilermaker pay, with a median of $32.47 an hour, and 32nd after adjusting for Virginia's cost of living (BEA price parity 101.1, US = 100).

What is the union boilermaker rate in Virginia?

Davis-Bacon determinations list a union contract rate for boilermakers in 80 counties, with a typical package of $66.36 an hour including fringe benefits; see the county table above.

How many boilermakers work in Virginia?

BLS counted 150 boilermakers in Virginia in May 2025, 0.0 per 1,000 jobs (location quotient 0.56; 1.0 is the national average concentration).

Is boilermaker work growing in Virginia?

Virginia's labor market agency projects +1.0% growth for boilermakers between 2024 and 2034, from 200 to 210 jobs.

How many boilermaker openings a year are there in Virginia?

Virginia projects about 20 openings a year for boilermakers over 2024–2034, counting both new positions and replacements for people who retire or change occupation. Nationally BLS projects about 700 a year.

Sources and notes

  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Virginia and metro areas, SOC 47-2011. Job counts are survey estimates and exclude the self-employed.
  • BLS Current Employment Statistics, state construction employment through 2026-09.
  • BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages.
  • BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (cost-of-living adjustment).
  • SAM.gov Davis-Bacon wage determinations, current revisions as of 2026-11-13. Not the official determination.
  • BLS Employment Projections, national, 2025-35.
  • State projection: Virginia labor market information agency via Projections Central, 2024–2034, fetched 2026-10-05.