Biological Scientists, All Other in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,354
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$19,236
22.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,800
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
$84,590
Kept after tax
$65,354
Worth in national money
$72,800
State rank
28
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. West Virginia pays biological scientists, all other around $84,590 at the midpoint, 28 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Within West Virginia this is well-paid work. Of 473 occupations with published figures in the state, biological scientists, all other ranks 63 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $84,590 the take-home is $65,354; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $72,800 would nationally. The average comes to $85,540, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For biological scientists, all other the West Virginia median is $84,590, ranking 28 of 50 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Ranked against every occupation West Virginia publishes a median for, biological scientists, all other sits 63 of 473 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for biological scientists, all other in West Virginia, on $84,590, is $65,354 — equivalent to $72,800 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 $85,540 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Biological Scientists, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $112,260 |
| This salary | $84,590 |
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 | $65,354 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,339 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,474 |
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 | $80,347 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,418 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $84,590 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $58,640 and the ninetieth is $112,260 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind West Virginia's $65,354, worked from $84,590. 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 63 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $72,800 uses one figure for the whole of West Virginia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 473 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 63.
- The West Virginia median of $84,590 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $58,640 to $112,260. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The West Virginia take-home of $65,354, on $84,590 for work ranking 63 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 63 of 473 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $72,800, worked from $84,590, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular West Virginia address, on work sitting at 63 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $58,640 at the bottom tenth to $112,260 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in West Virginia sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $72,800 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; West Virginia then takes its own share, leaving $65,354.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($58,640 to $112,260) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to West Virginia rather than a national figure.
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 $72,800 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 $65,354 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.