Writers and Authors Salary — Richmond, Virginia

The average Writers and Authors in Richmond, Virginia earns $71,390 a year.

$71,390 / year, mean
↓ 14.0% below national average 33th percentile in Virginia

Richmond pays below most of Virginia for this role, though still within a normal range for the state. That's noticeably below the national average for writers and authors, worth factoring into any relocation math. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within Virginia

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
230
Estimate confidence
RSE 5.7%
Cost of living 98 #76 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 1524 #67 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $397,705 #53 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $84,405 #39 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Richmond ranks #76 for cost of living and #53 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Jose $120,540 Santa Rosa $113,000 Oxnard $102,320 San Diego $101,560 Baltimore $101,430 Deltona $99,910 Seattle $98,430 Los Angeles $98,070 Philadelphia $95,850 San Luis Obispo $94,260 Portland $94,070 Austin $92,620 Sacramento $92,290 Albany $88,960 Riverside $88,320 Trenton $84,730 Santa Maria $84,700 Detroit $83,390 Medford $82,240 Bakersfield $81,820 Rochester $81,120 Charlottesville $80,940 Chicago $80,510 Syracuse $80,160 Houston $79,840 Harrisburg $79,410 Dallas $78,900 San Antonio $78,740 Fresno $78,550 Glens Falls $78,160 Orlando $77,770 Tampa $76,290 Bend $75,820 Buffalo $75,260 Virginia Beach $74,730 Fort Wayne $73,160 Lansing $72,480 Richmond $71,390 Tallahassee $70,840 Lancaster $70,700 Fort Myers $70,180 Miami $69,200 Charleston $68,970 Spokane $65,180 Sarasota $63,530 Atlantic City $63,280 Jacksonville $62,210 Louisville $57,290 Lexington $56,940 Ann Arbor $46,040
CityMean salaryvs. Richmond
Albany, New York$88,960+24.6%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$46,040-35.5%
Atlantic City, New Jersey$63,280-11.4%
Austin, Texas$92,620+29.7%
Bakersfield, California$81,820+14.6%
Baltimore, Maryland$101,430+42.1%
Bend, Oregon$75,820+6.2%
Buffalo, New York$75,260+5.4%
Fort Myers, Florida$70,180-1.7%
Charleston, West Virginia$68,970-3.4%
Charlottesville, Virginia$80,940+13.4%
Chicago, Illinois$80,510+12.8%
Dallas, Texas$78,900+10.5%
Deltona, Florida$99,910+39.9%
Detroit, Michigan$83,390+16.8%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$73,160+2.5%
Fresno, California$78,550+10.0%
Glens Falls, New York$78,160+9.5%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$79,410+11.2%
Houston, Texas$79,840+11.8%
Jacksonville, Florida$62,210-12.9%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$70,700-1.0%
Lansing, Michigan$72,480+1.5%
Lexington, Kentucky$56,940-20.2%
Los Angeles, California$98,070+37.4%
Louisville, Kentucky$57,290-19.8%
Medford, Oregon$82,240+15.2%
Miami, Florida$69,200-3.1%
Sarasota, Florida$63,530-11.0%
Orlando, Florida$77,770+8.9%
Oxnard, California$102,320+43.3%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$95,850+34.3%
Portland, Oregon$94,070+31.8%
Riverside, California$88,320+23.7%
Rochester, New York$81,120+13.6%
Sacramento, California$92,290+29.3%
San Antonio, Texas$78,740+10.3%
San Diego, California$101,560+42.3%
San Jose, California$120,540+68.8%
San Luis Obispo, California$94,260+32.0%
Santa Maria, California$84,700+18.6%
Santa Rosa, California$113,000+58.3%
Seattle, Washington$98,430+37.9%
Spokane, Washington$65,180-8.7%
Syracuse, New York$80,160+12.3%
Tallahassee, Florida$70,840-0.8%
Tampa, Florida$76,290+6.9%
Trenton, New Jersey$84,730+18.7%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$74,730+4.7%
Gross salary
71,390/yr
Estimated take-home
55,762/yr
Est. total withheld
21.9%

Single filer, federal + Virginia state tax + FICA, 2025 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Writers and Authors salaries in Virginia → All Writers and Authors salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 27-3043 SOC code
Official area Richmond, VA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 40060 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: va_tax_verificado 2025
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Virginia

Population (metro area)
1,327,321