Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,454
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$9,886
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,404
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
$53,340
Kept after tax
$43,454
Worth in national money
$48,404
State rank
46
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. West Virginia pays this job a middle wage of $53,340, 46 of 50 states and about 17.88% 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 212.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $53,340 you keep $43,454, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $48,404 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $55,160, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia's $53,340 median for civil engineering technologists and technicians places it 46 of 50 states, about 17.88% 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, civil engineering technologists and technicians sits at 212 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.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for civil engineering technologists and technicians on $53,340 is $43,454. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $48,404 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 $55,160 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $53,340 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,440 |
| This salary | $53,340 |
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 | $43,454 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,039 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,056 |
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 | $51,367 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,487 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $53,340 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,110 and the ninetieth is $75,440 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $43,454, from $53,340, 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 212 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 $48,404, the adjusted value of that $53,340 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 212 of 473 in the state.
- The West Virginia median of $53,340 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,110 to $75,440. 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 $43,454 from $53,340. 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 212 of 473 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $48,404 — the adjusted value of that $53,340 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 212 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 $55,160 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?
The label is broader than the work. From $35,110 at the bottom tenth to $75,440 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $48,404 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 $43,454.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $55,160. 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 ($35,110) and the ninetieth ($75,440) 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 $48,404 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 $43,454 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.