Childcare Workers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,774
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$3,936
14.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,483
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
$27,710
Kept after tax
$23,774
Worth in national money
$26,483
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for childcare workers. The middle earner takes $27,710, ranking 48 of 51 states — about 20.78% 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: 459 of 473 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $27,710 you keep $23,774 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $26,483 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $27,310.
- West Virginia ranks 48 of 51 for childcare workers, with a median of $27,710 — about 20.78% 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.
- Childcare workers occupies position 459 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.
- Retained pay in West Virginia is $23,774 after the full tax stack, from $27,710. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $26,483 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $27,310 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Childcare Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $27,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $35,890 |
| This salary | $27,710 |
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 | $23,774 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,429 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,344 |
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 | $26,915 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,605 |
| 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 $27,710. The published range is $22,170 up to $35,890, 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 $23,774, worked from $27,710. 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 459 of 473.
- Two cautions on $26,483, the adjusted value of that $27,710 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 459 of 473 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for childcare workers in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $22,170 to $35,890. 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 $23,774, on $27,710 for work ranking 459 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 459 of 473 in the state.
- This $26,483 adjusted figure, worked from $27,710, 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 459 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 459 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $22,170 at the tenth percentile, $35,890 at the ninetieth.
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 $26,483 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and West Virginia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $23,774 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($22,170 to $35,890) 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 $26,483 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 $23,774 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.