Child, Family, and School Social Workers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,601
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$9,619
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,455
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
$52,220
Kept after tax
$42,601
Worth in national money
$47,455
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. West Virginia pays this job a middle wage of $52,220, 36 of 51 states and about 12.31% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 473 occupations West Virginia reports figures for, this is number 220.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $52,220 you keep $42,601 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $47,455 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $52,610, since top earners drag the number up.
- West Virginia's $52,220 median for child, family, and school social workers places it 36 of 51 states, about 12.31% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In West Virginia's occupational distribution, child, family, and school social workers sits at 220 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.
- Retained pay in West Virginia is $42,601 after the full tax stack, from $52,220. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $47,455 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $52,610 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Child, Family, and School Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $66,980 |
| This salary | $52,220 |
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 | $42,601 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,139 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,033 |
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 | $50,306 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,458 |
| 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 $52,220. The published range is $38,410 up to $66,980, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $42,601, from $52,220, 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 220 of 473 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $47,455, the adjusted value of that $52,220 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 220 of 473 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for child, family, and school social workers in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,410 to $66,980. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for West Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $42,601 from $52,220. 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 220 of 473 locally.
- This $47,455 adjusted figure, worked from $52,220, 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 220 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 220 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,410 at the bottom tenth to $66,980 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $47,455.
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 $42,601.
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 ($38,410 to $66,980) 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 $47,455 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 $42,601 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.