Lowest-paying jobs in Norfolk

Uncertainty clouds the current job market. On one hand, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment rates at 4.2% as of May 2025—and that hasn't changed much in the past year, a typical indicator of a positive economy. At the same time, average weekly earnings have increased by 3.9% over the 12 months ending May 2025 to reach $1,243.03.

However, the American economy may soon shift. The Trump administration's federal budget cuts have eliminated tens of thousands of jobs, and constant changes in import tariffs leave companies unable to plan for their future employment needs.

With these factors in mind, minimum or low-wage jobs are increasingly unsustainable for most. In 2025, a full-time job at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour puts a worker under the poverty threshold, according to the Economic Policy Institute. While states can opt to have higher minimum wages, 20 states are at or below the federal minimum as of 2025.

Salaries can also vary by gender, race, and educational attainment. According to a March 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, women's earnings are about 85% of men's, and women also remain overrepresented in low-paying jobs. Meanwhile, April 2025 BLS data shows that Hispanic workers' median earnings lag behind those of other race and ethnicity groups, and full-time workers without a high school diploma earned the least compared to their more educated counterparts.

It's important to note, though, that low pay doesn't always equal low job satisfaction. Some people feel drawn to a particular field, seek a certain work environment, or aim for work-life balance. No matter the reason, Stacker used BLS data to find the 50 lowest-paying jobs in Norfolk. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2024, so any jobs without annual compensation figures available were excluded from this analysis.

Ground Picture // Shutterstock

1 / 50

#50. Stockers and order fillers

- Median annual wage: $34,810
- Median hourly wage: $16.74
- Total employment: 12,660 people (16.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

2 / 50

#49. Cooks, all other

- Median annual wage: $34,750
- Median hourly wage: $16.71
- Total employment: 90 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

New Africa // Shutterstock

3 / 50

#48. Receptionists and information clerks

- Median annual wage: $34,670
- Median hourly wage: $16.67
- Total employment: 5,150 people (6.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

aappp // Shutterstock

4 / 50

#47. Aircraft service attendants

- Median annual wage: $34,620
- Median hourly wage: $16.65
- Total employment: 210 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

create jobs 51 // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#45. Legislators (tie)

- Median annual wage: $34,480
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 30 people (0.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Tyler Olson // Shutterstock

6 / 50

#45. Demonstrators and product promoters (tie)

- Median annual wage: $34,480
- Median hourly wage: $16.58
- Total employment: 230 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Krysja // Shutterstock

7 / 50

#44. Funeral attendants

- Median annual wage: $34,310
- Median hourly wage: $16.50
- Total employment: 290 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Flamingo Images // Shutterstock

8 / 50

#43. Concierges

- Median annual wage: $34,280
- Median hourly wage: $16.48
- Total employment: 320 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

9 / 50

#42. Photographers

- Median annual wage: $34,110
- Median hourly wage: $16.40
- Total employment: 280 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Nejron Photo // Shutterstock

10 / 50

#41. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment

- Median annual wage: $33,940
- Median hourly wage: $16.32
- Total employment: 2,030 people (2.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Motortion Films // Shutterstock

11 / 50

#40. Personal care and service workers, all other

- Median annual wage: $33,890
- Median hourly wage: $16.29
- Total employment: 250 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

SviatlanaLaza // Shutterstock

12 / 50

#39. Packers and packagers, hand

- Median annual wage: $33,830
- Median hourly wage: $16.26
- Total employment: 950 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock

13 / 50

#38. Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers

- Median annual wage: $33,650
- Median hourly wage: $16.18
- Total employment: 80 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

shocky // Shutterstock

14 / 50

#37. Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers

- Median annual wage: $33,450
- Median hourly wage: $16.08
- Total employment: 640 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Carlovis // Shutterstock

15 / 50

#36. Tour and travel guides

- Median annual wage: $32,760
- Median hourly wage: $15.75
- Total employment: 210 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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MarijaBazarova // Shutterstock

16 / 50

#35. Skincare specialists

- Median annual wage: $32,590
- Median hourly wage: $15.67
- Total employment: 390 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

VH-studio // Shutterstock

17 / 50

#34. Protective service workers, all other

- Median annual wage: $31,500
- Median hourly wage: $15.14
- Total employment: 740 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

DSBfoto // Shutterstock

18 / 50

#33. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

- Median annual wage: $31,490
- Median hourly wage: $15.14
- Total employment: 11,790 people (15.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Olena Yakobchuk // Shutterstock

19 / 50

#31. Airfield operations specialists (tie)

- Median annual wage: $31,420
- Median hourly wage: $15.10
- Total employment: 30 people (0.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Richard Thornton // Shutterstock

20 / 50

#31. School bus monitors (tie)

- Median annual wage: $31,420
- Median hourly wage: $15.11
- Total employment: 420 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock

21 / 50

#30. Food preparation workers

- Median annual wage: $31,150
- Median hourly wage: $14.98
- Total employment: 3,440 people (4.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

VGstockstudio // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. Food servers, nonrestaurant

- Median annual wage: $30,880
- Median hourly wage: $14.85
- Total employment: 1,600 people (2.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock

23 / 50

#28. Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers

- Median annual wage: $30,520
- Median hourly wage: $14.67
- Total employment: 1,380 people (1.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock

24 / 50

#27. Office machine operators, except computer

- Median annual wage: $30,350
- Median hourly wage: $14.59
- Total employment: 100 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jason Person // Shutterstock

25 / 50

#26. Cooks, short order

- Median annual wage: $30,270
- Median hourly wage: $14.55
- Total employment: 740 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Gabriel Georgescu // Shutterstock

26 / 50

#25. Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks

- Median annual wage: $30,050
- Median hourly wage: $14.45
- Total employment: 1,610 people (2.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

aboutsung // Shutterstock

27 / 50

#24. Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers

- Median annual wage: $29,960
- Median hourly wage: $14.40
- Total employment: 2,250 people (2.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock

28 / 50

#23. Maids and housekeeping cleaners

- Median annual wage: $29,930
- Median hourly wage: $14.39
- Total employment: 4,560 people (6.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

SGr // Shutterstock

29 / 50

#22. Machine feeders and offbearers

- Median annual wage: $29,890
- Median hourly wage: $14.37
- Total employment: 130 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock

30 / 50

#21. Laundry and dry-cleaning workers

- Median annual wage: $29,870
- Median hourly wage: $14.36
- Total employment: 930 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Olena Yakobchuk // Shutterstock

31 / 50

#20. Automotive and watercraft service attendants

- Median annual wage: $29,800
- Median hourly wage: $14.33
- Total employment: 380 people (0.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

32 / 50

#19. Retail salespersons

- Median annual wage: $29,790
- Median hourly wage: $14.32
- Total employment: 20,980 people (27.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Martin Smith // Shutterstock

33 / 50

#18. Parking attendants

- Median annual wage: $29,450
- Median hourly wage: $14.16
- Total employment: 370 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Robert Przybysz // Shutterstock

34 / 50

#16. Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials (tie)

- Median annual wage: $29,230
- Median hourly wage: $14.05
- Total employment: 70 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Nomad_Soul // Shutterstock

35 / 50

#16. Bakers (tie)

- Median annual wage: $29,230
- Median hourly wage: $14.05
- Total employment: 810 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

PR Image Factory // Shutterstock

36 / 50

#15. Door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors, and related workers

- Median annual wage: $29,120
- Median hourly wage: $14.00
- Total employment: 50 people (0.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Pressmaster // Shutterstock

37 / 50

#14. Animal caretakers

- Median annual wage: $28,960
- Median hourly wage: $13.93
- Total employment: 2,040 people (2.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dean Drobot // Shutterstock

38 / 50

#13. Cashiers

- Median annual wage: $28,760
- Median hourly wage: $13.83
- Total employment: 17,380 people (23.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

wavebreakmedia // Shutterstock

39 / 50

#12. Dishwashers

- Median annual wage: $28,610
- Median hourly wage: $13.76
- Total employment: 2,250 people (2.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Pressmaster // Shutterstock

40 / 50

#11. Baggage porters and bellhops

- Median annual wage: $28,450
- Median hourly wage: $13.68
- Total employment: 130 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#10. Childcare workers

- Median annual wage: $28,340
- Median hourly wage: $13.62
- Total employment: 2,970 people (3.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dragon Images // Shutterstock

42 / 50

#9. Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop

- Median annual wage: $28,310
- Median hourly wage: $13.61
- Total employment: 2,520 people (3.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

BlueSkyImage // Shutterstock

43 / 50

#8. Fast food and counter workers

- Median annual wage: $27,960
- Median hourly wage: $13.44
- Total employment: 22,220 people (29.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock

44 / 50

#7. Home health and personal care aides

- Median annual wage: $27,780
- Median hourly wage: $13.36
- Total employment: 11,490 people (15.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Alexander Oganezov // Shutterstock

45 / 50

#6. Amusement and recreation attendants

- Median annual wage: $27,600
- Median hourly wage: $13.27
- Total employment: 2,110 people (2.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock

46 / 50

#5. Physical therapist aides

- Median annual wage: $27,480
- Median hourly wage: $13.21
- Total employment: 180 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Alena Veasey // Shutterstock

47 / 50

#4. Cooks, fast food

- Median annual wage: $27,150
- Median hourly wage: $13.05
- Total employment: 6,300 people (8.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Cameris // Shutterstock

48 / 50

#3. Taxi drivers

- Median annual wage: $26,610
- Median hourly wage: $12.80
- Total employment: 80 people (0.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)