Credit Counselors in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,759
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$8,101
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,061
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
$45,860
Kept after tax
$37,759
Worth in national money
$42,061
State rank
42
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for credit counselors is on the low side in West Virginia. The middle earner gets $45,860. That is 42 of 46 states, and about 12.2% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 473 occupations West Virginia reports figures for, this is number 287.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,860 you keep $37,759, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,061 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $45,010, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For credit counselors, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $45,860, ranking 42 of 46 and trailing the national median by about 12.2%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In West Virginia's occupational distribution, credit counselors sits at 287 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 credit counselors on $45,860 is $37,759. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,061 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 $45,010 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Credit Counselors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,390 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,400 |
| This salary | $45,860 |
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 | $37,759 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,029 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,898 |
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 | $44,280 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,295 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of credit counselors in West Virginia earn under $45,860 and half over. The published range runs $37,390 at the tenth percentile to $49,400 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $37,759 take-home in West Virginia comes from $45,860. 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 287 of 473.
- One number stands for prices across all of West Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $42,061, the adjusted value of that $45,860 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 287 of 473 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for credit counselors in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,390 to $49,400; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $37,759, from $45,860, 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 287 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 42 of 46 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $42,061 — the adjusted value of that $45,860 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 287 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,390 at the bottom tenth to $49,400 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $42,061 in national terms.
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, $37,759 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,390 to $49,400) 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 $42,061 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 $37,759 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.