Butchers and Meat Cutters in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,313
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$5,257
15.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,539
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
$33,570
Kept after tax
$28,313
Worth in national money
$31,539
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for butchers and meat cutters. The middle earner takes $33,570, ranking 50 of 51 states — about 16.37% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in West Virginia, this one sits low: 414 of 473 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $33,570 the take-home is $28,313; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $31,539 would nationally. The average lands at $33,250, below the middle of the range.
- West Virginia ranks 50 of 51 for butchers and meat cutters, with a median of $33,570 — about 16.37% 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.
- Butchers and meat cutters occupies position 414 of 473 in West Virginia's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for butchers and meat cutters in West Virginia, on $33,570, is $28,313 — equivalent to $31,539 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 $33,250 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Butchers and Meat Cutters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,550 |
| This salary | $33,570 |
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 | $28,313 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,153 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,538 |
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 | $32,524 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,860 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $33,570 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $23,240 and the ninetieth is $44,550 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $28,313 take-home in West Virginia comes from $33,570. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 414 of 473.
- Two cautions on $31,539, the adjusted value of that $33,570 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 414 of 473 locally.
- The West Virginia median of $33,570 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $23,240 to $44,550. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $28,313, from $33,570, assumes a single West Virginia filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 414 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 50 of 51 for it.
- This $31,539 adjusted figure, worked from $33,570, 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 414 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 414 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $23,240 and the top tenth $44,550, 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 $31,539 in national terms.
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 $28,313.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($23,240 to $44,550) 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 $31,539 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 $28,313 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.