Professor Salary in Chesapeake, VA: Median $57,740 in 2026
Chesapeake (VA) · COL index 99 · Unemployment 3.5% · Metro pop 250,000 · Rank #141 of 283 for Professor salary
A Professor in Chesapeake earns an estimated median of $57,740 per year. That figure starts from the Virginia state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($59,100) and scales it by Chesapeake's composite cost-of-living index of 99 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $30,961; the 90th percentile reaches $101,520. After federal, Virginia state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Professor takes home approximately $46,003/year — about $3,834/month or $1,769 every other week.
Compared to the national Professor median of $84,380, Chesapeake pays -31.6%. Relative to the Chesapeake median household income of $82,500, a Professorsalary runs -30.0%. Local unemployment is 3.5%[3], with an estimated 151 annual Professor openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (1,348,900).
Professor Snapshot — Chesapeake (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Chesapeake | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professor median salary | $57,740 | $84,380 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $30,961 | $57,600 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $101,520 | $168,920 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $46,003 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $355,000 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,450/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,325/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $82,500 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 99.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.5% | — | [3] |
How Professor Salaries Work in Chesapeake
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Virginia state-level OEWS median ($59,100) and scaling by Chesapeake's composite cost-of-living index (99)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and Virginia state income tax at a 4.4% effective rate ($2,520/yr on the $57,740 median)[10].
Chesapeake also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. A tight labor market (unemployment below 4%) gives candidates pricing power in negotiations. Median household income in the metro is $82,500, which frames what "a good Professor salary" means locally: a $$57,740 wage pays about 70% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Chesapeake
Estimated annual expense shares on a $46,003 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Chesapeake's COL index of 99. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Chesapeake's COL index of 99[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,450/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Chesapeake
Renting
Buying
At $3,834/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,150/mo. Chesapeake's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,450/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,325/mo), making rent tight but manageable on a median Professor salary. For homebuyers, the 6.1× price-to-income ratio is workable with a strong credit profile and manageable other debts.
How Chesapeake Stacks Up for Professors
Against 283 major US cities: Chesapeake ranks #141 for nominal Professor salary, #213 for rent affordability, and #146 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Chesapeake's nominal wage premium. Professors here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Professor Salary Comparison
Chesapeake's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs VA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake, VA ★ | $57,740 | 99 | $1,450 | — |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $86,911 | 103 | $1,571 | +50.5% |
| Richmond, VA | $81,849 | 97 | $1,287 | +41.8% |
| Roanoke, VA | $74,254 | 88 | $950 | +28.6% |
| Norfolk, VA | $80,161 | 95 | $1,250 | +38.8% |
| Newport News, VA | $78,473 | 93 | $1,200 | +35.9% |
Professor Job Market in Chesapeake
Chesapeake has an estimated 151 annual Professoropenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 1,348,900 national Professors[1]. The 3.5% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
About the profession: Postsecondary teachers (professors) teach academic and vocational subjects at colleges and universities. Salary varies greatly by institution type, discipline, and tenure status. Typical entry requirement: doctoral degree. Projected growth through 2034: 8%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Chesapeake
Early-career Professors in Chesapeake start around $30,961, reach the city median ($57,740) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($101,520) at senior / specialized levels.
Related education professions in Chesapeake
Calculators for Professors in Chesapeake
Other professions in Chesapeake
Frequently Asked Questions — Professor in Chesapeake
How much does a Professor make in Chesapeake, VA?
The estimated median salary for a Professor in Chesapeake is $57,740/year, scaled from the BLS OEWS Virginia state median ($59,100) by Chesapeake's composite cost-of-living index of 99 (US = 100). After federal, Virginia state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $46,003/year or $3,834/month.
Can a Professor afford to live in Chesapeake?
On $3,834/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,150/month. Chesapeake's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,450/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,325/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 30.1%, making housing tight but manageable for a Professor at the local median. Home-buyers face 6.1× price-to-income, needing roughly 6.1 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Professor pay in Chesapeake?
On $57,740 gross, a Professor in Chesapeake pays approximately $4,800 in federal income tax (8.3% effective), $2,520 in Virginia state income tax (4.4% effective), and $4,417 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 20.3%. Some Virginia cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Chesapeake rank for Professor salaries vs other cities?
Chesapeake ranks #141 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Professor salary, #213 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #146 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Professor in Chesapeake?
On $46,003 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Chesapeake looks like: housing $17,400/yr (37.8%); food $5,487/yr; transportation $4,582/yr; healthcare $3,211/yr; utilities $2,289/yr; savings + discretionary $13,034/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Chesapeake's COL index of 99 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Professor job market like in Chesapeake?
Chesapeake's unemployment rate is 3.5% across the metro of 250,000. Estimated annual Professor openings: ~151 (extrapolated from 1,348,900 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Chesapeake employers pay above or below the Virginia median for Professors?
Not consistently — Chesapeake's estimated Professor median of $57,740 is 31.6% below the national median. The trade-off is usually lower rents and (in some cases) lower state taxes, which can leave real purchasing power competitive.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Chesapeake median is derived from the Virginia state-level BLS OEWS median ($59,100), scaled by Chesapeake's composite cost-of-living index of 99. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Professormedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses Virginia's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 99index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 101.3(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Virginia Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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