Northern Virginia compensation
Data center salaries in Northern Virginia 2026
In the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro, the median electrician earned $36.50 an hour and the median HVAC mechanic $34.58 in May 2025, according to BLS. Posted pay for data center technicians in our October 2026 reading ran $35 to $58 an hour, national. On October 25, 2026, the five hyperscalers listed 463 open data center roles located in Virginia.
Pay in Northern Virginia
In the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro, the median electrician earned $36.50 an hour and the median HVAC mechanic $34.58 in May 2025, according to BLS. Posted pay for data center technicians in our October 2026 reading ran $35 to $58 an hour, national. On October 25, 2026, the five hyperscalers listed 463 open data center roles located in Virginia.
Median electrician pay 20% above and median HVAC mechanic pay 18% above the U.S. median (BLS, May 2025)
Employers
Amazon (AWS) lists the most hyperscaler data center roles in Virginia: 358 of 463 on October 25, 2026. Oracle (OCI) 38, Meta 34, Microsoft 19, Google 14. Colocation operators, facilities management firms, commissioning firms and contractors hire for the same sites.
Last reviewed · First published
Figures come from our monthly datasets and change when those pages refresh. BLS wage data updates once a year.
Wages
Local wages
Hourly wages in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro for the trades and engineers who build and run data centers. BLS does not publish a data center technician occupation.
| Occupation | 25th | Median | 75th | Median vs U.S. | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricians 47-2111 | $28.40 | $36.50 | $49.65 | 20% above | 16,580 |
| HVAC mechanics 49-9021 | $27.72 | $34.58 | $42.90 | 18% above | 8,730 |
| Electrical engineers 17-2071 | $47.38 | $60.78 | $79.66 | 5% above | 4,450 |
| Mechanical engineers 17-2141 | $48.46 | $61.05 | $77.03 | 22% above | 5,390 |
| Substation and relay electricians 49-2095 | $39.20 | $50.56 | $59.79 | 2% above | 170 |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, hourly. Occupations with fewer than 100 people employed in the metro are left out. Method and every metro on the pay premium study.
Postings
Posted pay
The median low and high ends of the pay ranges stated in data center job postings we read this month. Too few postings state pay to show these by city, so these figures are national.
| Role | Posted range | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioning technician | $38 to $60/hr | 5 |
| Commissioning engineer | $101K to $159K | 16 |
| Commissioning manager or lead | $141K to $214K | 12 |
| Commissioning agent (CxA) | $84K to $140K | 5 |
| Data center technician | $35 to $58/hr | 5 |
| Chief engineer | $110K to $166K | 5 |
Source: Our October 2026 reading of posted pay, national, shown where at least five postings state pay. Postings by role on the commissioning pay ranges and operations pay ranges pages.
Role guides: Critical Facilities Engineer, Commissioning Agent (CxA), Data Center Technician, MEP Coordinator, Data Center Construction Project Manager, GPU Cluster Engineer.
Local factors
Northern Virginia pay factors
- 4 of the 11 Northern Virginia projects in our tracker are approved or under construction, and none of those 4 are in Loudoun or Fairfax. They are in Culpeper, Prince William and Stafford, which changes the commute for people who live near Ashburn.
- The 2,100-acre Prince William Digital Gateway was cancelled in July 2026 after a court voided its rezoning.
- Cleared or federally adjacent work has its own hiring steps and pay.
- Our Northern Virginia tracker lists 11 projects: 1 under construction, 3 approved and 2 stalled or cancelled.
- The project under construction states 1,000 MW.
- Fort Belvoir and Marine Corps Base Quantico, both inside the Northern Virginia market. Neither site states a personnel figure.
FAQ
Questions
- What does a data center technician make in Northern Virginia?
- Posted pay for data center technicians ran $35 to $58 an hour in our October 2026 reading, the median low and high ends of 5 national postings that stated hourly pay. For the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro, BLS reports the median HVAC mechanic at $34.58 an hour with the 75th percentile at $42.90, and the median electrician at $36.50 with the 75th percentile at $49.65 (May 2025). Shift differential and overtime are paid on top and vary by employer.
- Who is hiring data center staff in Northern Virginia?
- Amazon (AWS) lists the most hyperscaler data center roles in Virginia: 358 of 463 on October 25, 2026. Oracle (OCI) 38, Meta 34, Microsoft 19, Google 14. Colocation operators, facilities management firms, commissioning firms and contractors hire for the same sites.
- How many data centers are being built in Northern Virginia?
- Our tracker lists 11 Northern Virginia projects: 1 under construction, 3 approved and 2 stalled or cancelled, as of November 4, 2026.
- Where are new Northern Virginia data centers being built?
- Of the 11 Northern Virginia projects in our tracker, the 4 that are approved or under construction are in Culpeper (2), Prince William and Stafford. The 5 projects in Loudoun and Fairfax are proposed.
Commissioning pay ranges
Posted salary ranges for commissioning roles, updated monthly.
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