- The middle half earn between $22.27 and $31.58 an hour.
- Virginia ranks 21st of the 48 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Virginia pays more than 3 of its 6 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 430 locksmiths on payrolls in Virginia.
- At the state median wage, a locksmith business needs to bill about $115.83 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Locksmith pay in Virginia, bottom to top
BLS files these as locksmiths and safe repairers: the people who open and repair locks, make keys, change locks and combinations, and install and repair safes.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $16.76 | $34,870 | $17.08 |
| 25th percentile | $22.27 | $46,320 | $20.75 |
| Median | $25.76 | $53,590 | $24.68 |
| 75th percentile | $31.58 | $65,690 | $31.04 |
| 90th percentile | $36.63 | $76,200 | $38.17 |
| Average (mean) | $26.99 | $56,140 | $26.67 |
From the bottom tenth ($16.76) to the top tenth ($36.63), the top of the scale pays about 2.2 times the bottom in Virginia, close to the 2.2 times spread for locksmiths nationwide.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $0.32 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $1.54 less than the national top tenth.
The average, $26.99, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Virginia compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $53,590 in Virginia against $51,320 nationally, $2,270 more.
In the state ranking, Virginia sits 21st, between Georgia ($25.99) and Kansas ($25.45). The range runs from $17.20 in Arkansas to $36.89 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, Virginia is in the middle: the District of Columbia, Maryland and West Virginia pay more, and Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Virginia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | $25.76 | $53,590 | |
| District of Columbia | $36.89 | $76,740 | +$11.13 an hour |
| Kentucky | $24.58 | $51,120 | −$1.18 an hour |
| Maryland | $29.01 | $60,330 | +$3.25 an hour |
| North Carolina | $22.07 | $45,900 | −$3.69 an hour |
| Tennessee | $24.16 | $50,250 | −$1.60 an hour |
| West Virginia | $27.25 | $56,690 | +$1.49 an hour |
How many locksmiths work in Virginia
About 430 locksmiths work on payrolls in Virginia, 2.9% of the 15,040 nationwide, the 9th largest count among the states.
That is 0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in Virginia, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a locksmith business in Virginia should charge
Say you run a locksmith business in Virginia and pay the state median of $25.76 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on its starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $25.76 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $57,680 |
| Break-even rate | ($57,680 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $98.45 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $98.45 ÷ 0.85 | $115.83 |
That is $115.83 per billable hour, 4.5 times the wage, and $1.90 more than the $113.93 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $31.58 in Virginia, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $126.05.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.27, the rate only drops to $109.70.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a locksmith in Virginia
- Licensing. What Virginia asks for before you can work on your own: Locksmith license in Virginia.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how locksmiths run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 49-9094, locksmiths and safe repairers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: locksmith salary by state.