Quick answer: The Virginia Beach metro employs about 100 health and safety engineers (BLS OEWS, May 2025), and licensing is set at the state level, through BCSP and the employers you are targeting.
Licensing is a state matter, not a city one. Safety practice is credential-driven rather than licensed. The certifications employers recruit against come from BCSP, principally the Associate Safety Professional and the Certified Safety Professional. The Professional Engineer path exists through an ABET-accredited degree and the NCEES sequence but is less commonly required. OSHA regulation governs the workplace rather than the individual practitioner.
See the Virginia licensing and pay overview for the statewide picture, and confirm current requirements with BCSP and the employers you are targeting.
Schools in our database near this area, ranked by BOC Score. The list favors schools with a related program on record, but program availability and delivery format change, so confirm directly with any school that it currently offers the program you want.
This page lists 1 school within 96 miles, closest group first, then ordered by BOC Score with the highest at the top. 1 of them carries a score.
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal about the institution rather than about this subject. Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Health and Safety Engineers in the Virginia Beach area earn a median $97,870 per year, below the national median of $115,160 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
| Metric | Virginia Beach metro | Virginia | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $97,870 | $104,920 | $115,160 |
| 10th percentile | $63,760 | $63,760 | $68,420 |
| 25th percentile | $77,520 | $82,550 | $90,930 |
| 75th percentile | $116,920 | $134,820 | $142,980 |
| 90th percentile | $139,030 | $162,630 | $171,250 |
| Employment | 100 | 380 | 21,450 |
| Location quotient | 0.96 | - | 1.00 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Metro figures cover the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metropolitan statistical area.
The Virginia Beach median of $97,870 is below the national median of $115,160, and below the Virginia statewide median of $104,920 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The metro’s location quotient of 0.96 means health and safety engineers are less concentrated here than in the average U.S. labor market (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Higher concentration generally means more employers competing for the same people, and an easier job change later.
Safety demand follows the region’s industrial base, construction volume and the concentration of employers large enough to staff a dedicated safety function.
Wage and employment figures describe the occupation as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not the graduates of any particular program, and individual outcomes may vary. Licensing rules change; confirm current requirements with the responsible state board before enrolling.
The median annual wage for health and safety engineers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area is $97,870, below the national median of $115,160 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area employs about 100 health and safety engineers (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Licensing is handled at state level rather than by city. Safety practice is credential-driven rather than licensed. The certifications employers recruit against come from BCSP, principally the Associate Safety Professional and the Certified Safety Professional. The Professional Engineer path exists through an ABET-accredited degree and the NCEES sequence but is less commonly required. OSHA regulation governs the workplace rather than the individual practitioner. Confirm current requirements with BCSP and the employers you are targeting.
The academic portion of these programs is widely available online for working adults, while labs, clinical hours or supervised field work are completed in person. Check that the program's accreditation satisfies BCSP and the employers you are targeting.
The Virginia Beach metro median is $97,870 against a statewide median of $104,920 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Compare that gap with the difference in living costs before treating it as a raise.
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
