SalaryExplorer

SOC 29-1127 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Speech-Language Pathologists — Staunton

Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA · 8 metro areas compared

$82,280 /year
$39.56per hour
60jobs in area
−15.9%vs US median

Median pay for this occupation in Staunton, VA is $82,280 a year, trailing the national median of $97,870 by 15.9%.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $97,87010TH$60,75025TH$74,910MEDIAN$82,28075TH$105,79090TH$118,480

How pay has moved

$88,340$74,0602022202320242025$82,280
$76,440 in 2022 to $82,280 in 2025, +7.6% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow much faster than average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+15.0%
Openings per year
13,300
Typical entry-level education
Master's degree
On-the-job training
Internship/residency

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

Median pay for this occupation in Staunton, VA is $82,280 a year, trailing the national median of $97,870 by 15.9%. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $74,910 and $105,790. The lowest tenth earn under $60,750, while the highest tenth earn more than $118,480.

The area has 60 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.99 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Within the state, Virginia Beach records the highest median at $97,870. Of the 208 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 40th.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$60,750−37.9%
25th$74,910−23.5%
Median (50th)$82,280−15.9%
75th$105,790+8.1%
90th$118,480+21.1%
Mean$86,530−11.6%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Virginia

Median annual wage for Speech-Language Pathologists, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Virginia Beach$97,870880
2Richmond$96,080770
3Winchester$96,04080
4Charlottesville$94,800140
5Lynchburg$93,410120
6Roanoke$91,560190
7Blacksburg$85,77060
8Harrisonburg$79,72060

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Staunton run 8.9% below the national average, so the median of $82,280 goes as far as $90,318 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 7.7% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$82,280as reported by BLS

Local price level

91.1US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$90,318US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $82,280 a year, 15.9% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $60,750 to $118,480 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 60 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Virginia Beach, at $97,870.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Speech-Language Pathologists in Staunton, VA?

The median annual wage is $82,280, or $39.56 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $97,870, so pay in Staunton, VA is 15.9% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Staunton, VA earns more than $118,480 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $60,750 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Virginia Beach, at $97,870 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 60 jobs in this occupation in Staunton, VA. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.