Hiring a bioengineer in Chesapeake, VA

Employers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC area pay bioengineers and biomedical engineers a median of $102,720, with the middle half of the market between $81,250 and $128,590. Chesapeake residents working in architecture and engineering occupations report a median of $92,846, which is 10% below what the metro pays for this role.

What does a bioengineer earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$81,250
Median	$102,720
75th percentile	$128,590

Half of bioengineers and biomedical engineers in this area earn between $81,250 and $128,590. A band set below $81,250 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Chesapeake residents earn

$92,846

Median earnings of Chesapeake residents working in architecture and engineering occupations, 3,851 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 10% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The two sit close together, so pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Evaluate the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of biomedical equipment.
Prepare technical reports, data summary documents, or research articles for scientific publication, regulatory submissions, or patent applications.
Design or develop medical diagnostic or clinical instrumentation, equipment, or procedures, using the principles of engineering and biobehavioral sciences.
Conduct research, along with life scientists, chemists, and medical scientists, on the engineering aspects of the biological systems of humans and animals.
Adapt or design computer hardware or software for medical science uses.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 17-2031.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Python, R, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk AutoCAD, C.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Chesapeake?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

That matters here, because 36.4% of Chesapeake adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Chesapeake commute runs 25.5 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 11.5% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Chesapeake city, architectural, engineering and related services employs 2,774 and turns over 5.4% a quarter, with 191 hires against 207 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $8,793 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5413.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about bioengineers and biomedical engineers. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a low-churn market, where people do not move often and passive candidates are the whole game.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $20,544 to $30,816 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a bioengineer somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other architecture and engineering roles in Chesapeake

Chesapeake is the 2th largest of 4 Virginia cities in this dataset.