Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers in West Virginia

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,841
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$18,969
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,228
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
$83,810
Kept after tax
$64,841
Worth in national money
$72,228
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $83,810, ranking 37 of 51 states — about 12.08% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 473 occupations West Virginia reports, this job comes in at 64 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $83,810 you keep $64,841, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $72,228 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $85,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 37 of 51 for electrical power-line installers and repairers, with a median of $83,810 — about 12.08% 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.
- Electrical power-line installers and repairers ranks 64 of 473 occupations by median in West Virginia, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for electrical power-line installers and repairers on $83,810 is $64,841. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $72,228 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 $85,000 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: Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $115,350 |
| This salary | $83,810 |
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 | $64,841 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,790 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,467 |
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 | $79,618 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,408 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $83,810 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $47,760 and the ninetieth is $115,350 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $64,841 take-home in West Virginia comes from $83,810. 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 64 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $72,228 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 64.
- The West Virginia median of $83,810 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $47,760 to $115,350. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $64,841, from $83,810, 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 64 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 37 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $72,228, worked from $83,810, 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 64 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $47,760 at the bottom tenth to $115,350 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $72,228 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 $64,841 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($47,760) and the ninetieth ($115,350) 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 $72,228 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 $64,841 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.