The 10 Lowest Paying Jobs In Virginia For 2019

Back in high school I had the best job you could have in high school, I worked at the local movie theater for minimum wage plus free popcorn and movies. I was happy to make minimum wage back then, but now I couldn’t imagine living on the $5.86/hr I was making.

All of this reminiscing got me wondering, who gets paid the least in Virginia?

So to piggy-backing on our research into the highest paying jobs in Virginia, we decided to use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify the lowest paying jobs.

After combing through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we discovered that Cooks, Fast Food are the lowest paid people in Virginia.

Here’s a quick look at the 10 lowest paying jobs in Virginia:

For more information on how much the lowest paying jobs pay, read on, or check out this other reading on Virginia:

If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the Virginia job scene here:

These Are The 10 Best Jobs In Virginia For Recent College Grads
These Are The 10 Fastest Growing Jobs In Virginia In 2017
These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Virginia

How we determined the lowest paid jobs in Virginia

We looked at the BLS’s data set for all 641 job classifications in Virginia in order to identify those that get paid the least.

We will update the data annually as it becomes available from the BLS. The most recent data is as of May 2018.

For more reading, check out:

These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Virginia Beach
These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Virginia

Detailed List Of The Lowest Paying Jobs In Virginia

Rank	Job Title	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Cooks, Fast Food	$20,320	$16,550	13,700
2	Combined Food Preparation And Serving Workers, Including Fast Food	$20,860	$16,470	96,410
3	Dishwashers	$20,910	$16,610	12,950
4	Ushers, Lobby Attendants, And Ticket Takers	$20,930	$16,290	2,210
5	Hosts And Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, And Coffee Shop	$21,180	$16,590	11,900
6	Personal Care Aides	$21,240	$16,480	39,030
7	Shampooers	$21,350	$16,650	930
8	Pressers, Textile, Garment, And Related Materials	$21,560	$16,550	1,350
9	Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, And Coffee Shop	$21,640	$16,960	9,660
10	Locker Room, Coatroom, And Dressing Room Attendants	$21,670	$16,770	220
11	Dining Room And Cafeteria Attendants And Bartender Helpers	$21,750	$16,520	7,200
12	Cashiers	$22,020	$16,710	123,290
13	Food Preparation Workers	$22,200	$16,850	19,640
14	Food Servers, Nonrestaurant	$22,210	$17,020	6,990
15	Laundry And Dry-Cleaning Workers	$22,280	$16,570	5,580
16	Hotel, Motel, And Resort Desk Clerks	$22,300	$16,780	7,460
17	Maids And Housekeeping Cleaners	$22,860	$17,040	24,450
18	Home Health Aides	$23,440	$16,970	9,700
19	Pharmacy Aides	$24,020	$18,520	650
20	Manicurists And Pedicurists	$24,050	$16,670	3,710
21	Waiters And Waitresses	$24,070	$16,520	72,420
22	Ambulance Drivers And Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians	$24,120	$16,760	270
23	Packers And Packagers, Hand	$24,250	$16,960	11,720
24	Cooks, Short Order	$24,300	$19,260	1,750
25	Childcare Workers	$24,620	$16,920	14,410
26	Parking Lot Attendants	$25,210	$17,520	2,290
27	Automotive And Watercraft Service Attendants	$25,420	$17,870	2,430
28	Nonfarm Animal Caretakers	$25,440	$17,180	6,390
29	Food Preparation And Serving Related Workers, All Other	$25,630	$18,030	620
30	Sewing Machine Operators	$25,640	$17,570	2,600
31	Baggage Porters And Bellhops	$25,780	$18,480	1,100
32	Cleaners Of Vehicles And Equipment	$25,940	$17,060	8,930
33	Sewers, Hand	$26,160	$17,860	90
34	Models	$26,230	$17,060	60
35	Janitors And Cleaners, Except Maids And Housekeeping Cleaners	$26,340	$17,420	63,050
36	Tour And Travel Guides	$26,370	$18,000	1,710
37	Graders And Sorters, Agricultural Products	$26,400	$21,190	270
38	Bartenders	$26,420	$16,790	10,400
39	Tire Repairers And Changers	$26,530	$17,690	2,700
40	Cooks, Restaurant	$26,590	$18,200	33,380
41	Veterinary Assistants And Laboratory Animal Caretakers	$26,750	$20,020	3,850
42	Bakers	$27,030	$18,210	3,340
43	Telemarketers	$27,060	$17,490	5,890
44	Library Assistants, Clerical	$27,260	$17,580	2,840
45	Recreation Workers	$27,300	$16,910	10,360
46	Funeral Attendants	$27,310	$18,760	1,510
47	Meat, Poultry, And Fish Cutters And Trimmers	$27,310	$21,520	4,070
48	Retail Salespersons	$27,310	$17,300	107,210
49	Psychiatric Aides	$27,480	$20,360	1,250
50	Food Processing Workers, All Other	$27,560	$20,890	1,150
51	Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders	$27,650	$18,720	160
52	Photographic Process Workers And Processing Machine Operators	$27,820	$17,700	430
53	Helpers–Production Workers	$27,870	$18,690	6,320
54	Transportation Attendants, Except Flight Attendants	$27,870	$20,160	240
55	Stock Clerks And Order Fillers	$27,890	$18,780	55,090
56	Teacher Assistants	$28,000	$17,280	31,030
57	Floral Designers	$28,060	$18,390	1,100
58	Physical Therapist Aides	$28,110	$20,820	1,580
59	Cooks, All Other	$28,220	$17,350	390
60	Slaughterers And Meat Packers	$28,350	$20,850	1,600
61	Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service	$28,350	$19,060	1,060
62	Substitute Teachers	$28,400	$18,100	27,640
63	Taxi Drivers And Chauffeurs	$28,410	$18,660	5,470
64	Orderlies	$28,490	$21,450	940
65	Helpers–Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, And Stucco Masons	$28,640	$18,620	340
66	Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Except Sawing	$28,730	$20,950	2,500
67	Nursing Assistants	$28,770	$20,520	39,320
68	Helpers–Carpenters	$29,280	$20,590	2,090
69	Textile Knitting And Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders	$29,330	$22,140	750
70	Laborers And Freight, Stock, And Material Movers, Hand	$29,370	$20,250	55,950
71	Cooks, Institution And Cafeteria	$29,400	$20,030	7,850
72	Costume Attendants	$29,420	$18,690	60
73	Furniture Finishers	$29,450	$18,820	410
74	Cutters And Trimmers, Hand	$29,480	$21,720	110
75	Helpers–Installation, Maintenance, And Repair Workers	$29,570	$17,890	4,890
76	Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Wood	$29,580	$21,410	1,960
77	Helpers–Roofers	$29,690	$21,440	500
78	Landscaping And Groundskeeping Workers	$30,000	$20,320	25,920
79	Receptionists And Information Clerks	$30,050	$19,460	32,230
80	Production Workers, All Other	$30,080	$17,150	5,060
81	Cleaning, Washing, And Metal Pickling Equipment Operators And Tenders	$30,150	$20,710	150
82	Painting, Coating, And Decorating Workers	$30,160	$17,440	150
83	Textile Bleaching And Dyeing Machine Operators And Tenders	$30,410	$21,110	250
84	Helpers–Electricians	$30,510	$21,400	3,220
85	Mail Clerks And Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service	$30,620	$17,750	4,050
86	Psychiatric Technicians	$30,650	$22,950	2,860
87	Helpers–Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, And Tile And Marble Setters	$30,870	$23,400	1,620
88	Helpers–Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, And Steamfitters	$30,910	$20,980	2,440
89	Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, And Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic	$31,030	$19,980	920
90	Driver/sales Workers	$31,100	$17,030	9,140
91	Parts Salespersons	$31,130	$18,830	6,030
92	Tellers	$31,220	$23,360	10,980
93	Residential Advisors	$31,340	$20,200	4,020
94	Helpers, Construction Trades, All Other	$31,340	$21,940	1,370
95	Bus Drivers, School Or Special Client	$31,410	$17,960	19,280
96	Demonstrators And Product Promoters	$31,460	$19,660	2,360
97	Counter And Rental Clerks	$31,470	$18,070	12,930
98	Religious Workers, All Other	$31,470	$21,230	90
99	Tool Grinders, Filers, And Sharpeners	$31,650	$21,880	110
100	Cooling And Freezing Equipment Operators And Tenders	$31,710	$23,260	120

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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