Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,910
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$13,280
19.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,052
West Virginia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in West Virginia — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$67,190
Kept after tax
$53,910
Worth in national money
$60,052
State rank
46
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in West Virginia. The middle earner gets $67,190. That is 46 of 49 states, and about 20.6% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 473 occupations West Virginia reports figures for, this is number 127.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $67,190 the take-home is $53,910; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $60,052 would nationally. The average comes to $75,960, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For biological science teachers, postsecondary, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $67,190, ranking 46 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 20.6%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In West Virginia's occupational distribution, biological science teachers, postsecondary sits at 127 of 473 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for biological science teachers, postsecondary in West Virginia, on $67,190, is $53,910 — equivalent to $60,052 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $75,960 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,950 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $67,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $123,830 |
| This salary | $67,190 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in West Virginia | $53,910 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $56,098 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,323 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $64,381 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,209 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of biological science teachers, postsecondary in West Virginia earn under $67,190 and half over. The published range runs $47,950 at the tenth percentile to $123,830 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind West Virginia's $53,910, worked from $67,190. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 127 of 473.
- One number stands for prices across all of West Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $60,052, the adjusted value of that $67,190 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 127 of 473 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for biological science teachers, postsecondary in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,950 to $123,830; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The West Virginia take-home of $53,910, on $67,190 for work ranking 127 of 473 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 127 of 473 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $60,052 — the adjusted value of that $67,190 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 127 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $75,960, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $47,950 at the bottom tenth to $123,830 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. West Virginia is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $60,052 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and West Virginia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $53,910 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in West Virginia is $75,960. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($47,950) and the ninetieth ($123,830) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
West Virginia's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $60,052 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $53,910 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and West Virginia income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.