BLS OEWS, May 2025

Embedded systems engineer salary in Virginia Beach, VA

What embedded systems engineers are paid in Virginia Beach, VA, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with how your own pay compares. Figures from the BLS OEWS release dated May 2025.

Median annual pay

$131,710

Middle half earn

$102,190 to $164,280

People in this job here

280

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Computer Hardware Engineers, Virginia Beach, VA, annual pay, May 2025

10th percentile
$81,700
25th percentile
$102,190
Median
$131,710
75th percentile
$164,280
90th percentile
$193,040

Counted under Computer Hardware Engineers.

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 17-2061. Percentiles across everyone employed in the occupation, not experience levels.

At a glance

How Virginia Beach, VA compares

  • The median here is 19% below the national median of $161,740.
  • Virginia Beach, VA ranks 23rd for median pay among the 44 largest US metros with published figures for this occupation.
  • About 280 people work in this occupation here, roughly 1 in every 2,725 jobs in the metro.
  • Pay varies widely within the job: the 90th percentile earns 2.4 times the 10th.

Worked from BLS OEWS, May 2025. Not adjusted for the cost of living.

Virginia Beach, VA against the national figures
PercentileVirginia Beach, VANational
10th percentile$81,700$92,940
25th percentile$102,190$126,090
Median$131,710$161,740
75th percentile$164,280$202,990
90th percentile$193,040$225,330

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 17-2061. National page for embedded systems engineers

By metro

Other metros for embedded systems engineers

Median annual pay in the largest US metros where BLS published figures for this occupation, highest first, May 2025.

Medians from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Skills

What employers look for in an embedded systems engineer

The skills our embedded systems engineer resume example leads with, written for US employers.

  • C
  • C++
  • ARM Cortex-M
  • RTOS
  • FreeRTOS
  • Bare-metal firmware
  • Device drivers
  • I2C and SPI
  • UART
  • CAN bus

See the full embedded systems engineer resume example, with bullets and keywords.

Negotiating

Using these numbers

Below $102,190 puts you in the bottom quarter for embedded systems engineers in Virginia Beach, VA. That is worth raising, with evidence of what you deliver.

The median, $131,710, is the middle of the market, not a ceiling. An offer at or near it is a fair starting point to negotiate from.

Asking for $164,280 or more puts you in the top quarter, so it needs a reason an employer will accept: a wider scope, a competing offer, or a skill that is hard to hire for.

Percentiles are not experience levels. They describe everyone doing the job, so a senior hire can sit at the median of a market full of senior people.

About the numbers

What these figures are

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys employers for its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and these figures are from the release dated May 2025. They cover wage and salary workers in Computer Hardware Engineers, a category that is often broader than a single job title. Self-employed people are not included.

They are base pay: bonuses, equity and overtime are not included, and they are not adjusted for the cost of living. The metro is Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC as BLS defines it.

Questions

Questions about embedded systems engineer pay in Virginia Beach, VA

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