Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,726
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$5,674
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,113
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
$35,400
Kept after tax
$29,726
Worth in national money
$33,113
State rank
41
of 47 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 $35,400. That is 41 of 47 states, and about 25.22% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 473 occupations West Virginia publishes, this job lands at 393. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $35,400 you keep $29,726, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,113 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $36,310, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $35,400, ranking 41 of 47 and trailing the national median by about 25.22%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within West Virginia, this work ranks 393 of 473 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys on $35,400 is $29,726. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,113 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $36,310 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,520 |
| This salary | $35,400 |
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 | $29,726 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,624 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,599 |
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 | $34,282 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,933 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,400 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $21,750 and the ninetieth is $46,520 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $29,726, from $35,400, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 393 of 473 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of West Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,113, the adjusted value of that $35,400 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 393 of 473 in the state.
- The West Virginia median of $35,400 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $21,750 to $46,520. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for West Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,726 from $35,400. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 393 of 473 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $33,113 — the adjusted value of that $35,400 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 393 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $21,750 and the top tenth $46,520, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $33,113 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and West Virginia's own levy, $29,726 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($21,750 to $46,520) 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 $33,113 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 $29,726 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.