Psychiatry Physician Salary in Virginia (2026)
A Psychiatry physician practicing in Virginia can expect a base salary inside the national Psychiatry band of $255K to $360K, with the median tracking close to $290K. The Virginia variation on that number is driven mostly by anchor-employer comp structure in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Richmond, Arlington, Alexandria, Roanoke, Charlottesville and by shortage-area incentive stacking outside those metros — not by Virginia cost-of-living alone.
Psychiatry compensation snapshot for Virginia
- Typical Virginia base range
- $255K – $360K (national median $290K)
- National demand signal
- very high
- Top Virginia hiring metros
- Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Richmond, Arlington, Alexandria, Roanoke, Charlottesville
- Virginia HPSA / shortage posture
- Southwest Virginia coalfields and Eastern Shore carry HPSA designations
- Primary board
- American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
Where Psychiatry offers land highest in Virginia
Virginia is anchored by Sentara Healthcare, Inova Health System, VCU Health, UVA Health, Carilion Clinic, Bon Secours Mercy Health, and HCA Virginia. For Psychiatry, the highest-comp Virginia opportunities I see are typically not in the urban core of Virginia Beach — they sit in rural and HPSA-designated counties where the same Psychiatry role carries a 10-25% base premium plus signing bonuses of $30K-$100K and loan repayment of $50K-$200K layered on top of base. That stacking can push an Virginia Psychiatry offer comfortably above the $360K national ceiling in year-one total cash.
Virginia incentive programs that boost Psychiatry take-home
The Virginia State Loan Repayment Program supports primary care, behavioral health, and dental providers in HPSA sites. The Virginia Conrad State 30 J-1 waiver program is competitive and consistently filled. NHSC loan repayment is widely used across southwest Virginia coalfield FQHCs and Eastern Shore rural sites. For Psychiatry specifically, these federal and state programs frequently add the equivalent of $30K-$60K per year of pre-tax value over the first three years of service.
How I benchmark a Psychiatry offer in Virginia
When a Psychiatry candidate sends me an Virginia offer, I check three things in order: (1) where the base lands inside the $255K–$360K band relative to MGMA regional percentiles, (2) the wRVU conversion factor and ramp/threshold structure, and (3) the call burden and stipend. Virginia's licensing pace also matters for ramp timing: The Virginia Board of Medicine licenses with a typical timeline of 60-90 days for US-trained physicians.
Engage a Virginia Psychiatry compensation review
Email hire@physicianrecruitment.com for a written Virginia Psychiatry compensation review of any offer you've received, at no cost. We benchmark against MGMA/AMGA percentiles and the active Virginia Psychiatry pipeline we're working in real time.