Counter and Rental Clerks in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,247
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$5,533
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,580
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
$34,780
Kept after tax
$29,247
Worth in national money
$32,580
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. West Virginia pays counter and rental clerks a middle wage of $34,780, 51 of 51 states and about 15.79% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within West Virginia this is lower-paid work. Of 473 occupations the state publishes figures for, counter and rental clerks ranks 404. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,780 you keep $29,247, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,580 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $35,580, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia's $34,780 median for counter and rental clerks places it 51 of 51 states, about 15.79% 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.
- Against every occupation West Virginia reports, counter and rental clerks ranks 404 of 473, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for counter and rental clerks on $34,780 is $29,247. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,580 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 $35,580 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Counter and Rental Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,140 |
| This salary | $34,780 |
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 | $29,247 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,126 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,578 |
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 | $33,687 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,909 |
| 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 $34,780. The published range is $22,580 up to $48,140, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $29,247, from $34,780, 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 404 of 473 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,580 uses one figure for the whole of West Virginia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 473 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 404.
- Reported values are medians; for counter and rental clerks in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $22,580 to $48,140. 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 $29,247 from $34,780. 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 404 of 473 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,580, worked from $34,780, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular West Virginia address, on work sitting at 404 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $22,580 at the bottom tenth to $48,140 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $32,580.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and West Virginia's own levy, $29,247 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($22,580) and the ninetieth ($48,140) 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 $32,580 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 $29,247 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.