Budget Analysts in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,579
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$17,271
21.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,595
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
$78,850
Kept after tax
$61,579
Worth in national money
$68,595
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for budget analysts. The middle earner takes $78,850, ranking 48 of 51 states — about 13.96% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in West Virginia. It ranks 83 out of 473 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $78,850 you keep $61,579, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $68,595 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $84,740, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 48 of 51 for budget analysts, with a median of $78,850 — about 13.96% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Within West Virginia, budget analysts ranks 83 of 473 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for budget analysts on $78,850 is $61,579. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $68,595 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 $84,740 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Budget Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $119,430 |
| This salary | $78,850 |
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 | $61,579 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,301 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,424 |
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 | $74,980 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,349 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in West Virginia earn less than $78,850. The published range is $51,200 up to $119,430, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind West Virginia's $61,579, worked from $78,850. 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 83 of 473.
- Two cautions on $68,595, the adjusted value of that $78,850 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of West Virginia. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 83 of 473 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for budget analysts in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,200 to $119,430. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The West Virginia take-home of $61,579, on $78,850 for work ranking 83 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 83 of 473 in the state.
- This $68,595 adjusted figure, worked from $78,850, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 83 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 83 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $84,740 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $51,200, the highest tenth $119,430, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $68,595 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 $61,579.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $84,740. 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 ($51,200) and the ninetieth ($119,430) 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 $68,595 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 $61,579 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.