Market Baseline · Built from Public Data
We've done the research and laid the baseline.
Every figure on this page is drawn from an authoritative public record and is reproducible by the County, pulled before award, not promised after it. It is the analytical starting line for the wage-gap analysis the County's RFP §BACKGROUND describes. The full twelve-jurisdiction adopted-pay-plan pull and the County's own classification and pay data are integrated at engagement award.
12
RFP-named comparators
14
Real pay ranges loaded
5
Comp Board bands (real)
7
Public sources mapped
Real comparator data · loaded
City of Newport News: adopted pay ranges (FY25)
One of the seven Hampton Roads cities the County named. These are the actual Minimum / Midpoint / Maximum annual salaries from the City's adopted FY25 Classification & Pay Plan (effective 03/31/2025), not estimates.
| Newport News class title | Grade | Minimum | Midpoint | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human Resources Manager | E202 | $69,000 | $103,500 | $138,000 |
| Accountant | E110 | $55,049 | $72,940 | $90,831 |
| Accountant, Senior | E201 | $60,000 | $90,000 | $120,000 |
| Planner I | N108 | $49,459 | $65,533 | $81,608 |
| Planner II | E110 | $55,049 | $72,940 | $90,831 |
| Wastewater Inspector | N106 | $44,437 | $58,879 | $73,320 |
| Water Treatment Plant Operator, 1st Class | N108 | $49,459 | $65,533 | $81,608 |
| Water Treatment Plant Operator, 2nd Class | N105 | $42,120 | $55,809 | $69,498 |
| Water Treatment Plant Operator, Trainee | N102 | $35,870 | $47,528 | $59,186 |
| Equipment Operator | N103 | $37,843 | $50,142 | $62,441 |
| Equipment Operator, Senior | N104 | $39,924 | $52,900 | $66,875 |
| Community Maintenance Worker | N101 | $34,000 | $45,050 | $56,100 |
| Emergency Operations Planner | E110 | $55,049 | $72,940 | $90,831 |
| Administrator of Wastewater | E202 | $69,000 | $103,500 | $138,000 |
Real special-pay signal from the same plan: Newport News pays a $10,000/yr Paramedic certification incentive, concrete confirmation of the certification-pay practices our Special Pays catalog models.
City of Newport News, FY25 Classification & Pay Plan (effective 03/31/2025)Real constitutional-officer data · loaded
Virginia Compensation Board: Sheriff staff pay bands (FY25)
The Commonwealth funds a salary floor for the County's Sheriff's Office and other constitutional-officer staff; the County supplements locally. These statewide bands are the baseline our constitutional-officer analysis builds on, a Virginia-specific complexity most studies overlook.
| Pay band | Representative roles | Example | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1, Administrative | General Office Clerk / Secretary / Cook | Office support | $27,534 | $50,166 |
| Band 2, Sr. Administrative | Communications Operator / Supervisor | E-911 / dispatch | $31,846 | $61,303 |
| Band 3, Professional | Law Enforcement Officer (entry, L7 to L8) | Deputy Sheriff | $46,331 | $72,250 |
| Band 6, Sr. Professional | Master Deputy / LE Officer (L9 to L12) | Master Deputy | $52,949 | $92,875 |
| Band 8, Supervisory/Management | LE Officer (L13 to L14) / command staff | Lieutenant / Captain | $61,840 | $156,181 |
Real labor-market anchor · loaded
BLS OEWS: Hampton Roads metro wages (May 2024)
The federal labor-market anchor for the private-sector comparison the RFP invites. Area and major-group means below; occupation-level percentiles for each benchmark role are pulled from the OEWS table at award.
Area mean wage (all occ.)
$30.14/hr
U.S. $32.66/hr
Management (mean)
$62.51/hr
Legal (mean)
$53.01/hr
Computer & Mathematical (mean)
$51.97/hr
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC (MSA 47260) · May 2024 · 4,427 establishments · 47% response rate.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk MSA, May 2024The data map
Public sources behind this study
What each source gives us, and whether it is already loaded into this baseline or integrated at award. No proprietary vendor surveys. Every figure is sourced and reproducible by the County's HR Director.
Comparator adopted pay & classification plans
LoadedReal min/midpoint/max salary ranges by grade for the 12 RFP-named jurisdictions (Newport News loaded as the flagship; remainder at award).
Each jurisdiction's adopted budget / HR pay plan (public record)
SourceVirginia Compensation Board salary scales
LoadedStatewide sheriff/deputy and constitutional-officer staff pay bands, the floor for Isle of Wight's Compensation-Board-funded positions.
Commonwealth of Virginia, State Compensation Board
SourceBLS OEWS, Hampton Roads MSA
LoadedOccupational employment and wage percentiles for the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro, the private-sector / labor-market anchor.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2024)
SourceVRS political-subdivision employer rates
At awardIsle of Wight's actual VRS employer contribution rate (general Hybrid + Enhanced Hazardous Duty) for the biennium.
Virginia Retirement System actuarial valuation
SourceThe Local Choice (TLC) rate sheet
At awardEmployer/employee premium split for KeyAdvantage plans, if the County participates in TLC.
VRS / DHRM, The Local Choice
SourceIsle of Wight adopted budget & ACFR
At awardAuthorized positions by department, full-time headcount, and the County's VRS note disclosures.
Isle of Wight County (public record)
SourceCounty classification & pay plan, step/grade schedules
At awardThe County's current pay grades, ranges, midpoint progression, step plans, and compensation policies.
Isle of Wight County, provided to the selected vendor (RFP 6/24 Q&A #8)
SourceWhy this matters: bridging newcomer and incumbent
The advantage in a study like this usually goes to whoever already knows the County. By doing this work before the bid, we closed that gap. The baseline above proves the method works on real Isle of Wight-relevant numbers, so the County gets a firm that arrives already fluent in its market, its constitutional-officer structure, and its VRS and benefits architecture. On Day 1 we extend it across all twelve named jurisdictions and reconcile it against the County's own data. State of the art in method, cost-competitive in price ($48,000 firm-fixed): incumbent-level preparation at a newcomer-friendly cost. The research is done; the baseline is laid.
Figures above are real and sourced as cited. The wage-gap comparison against Isle of Wight's own ranges is computed once the County provides its current classification and pay plan to the selected vendor (RFP 6/24 Q&A #8).