Fast Food and Counter Workers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$22,472
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$3,598
13.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,033
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
$26,070
Kept after tax
$22,472
Worth in national money
$25,033
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for fast food and counter workers. The middle earner takes $26,070, ranking 47 of 51 states — about 16.44% 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: 467 of 473 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $26,070 the take-home is $22,472; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $25,033 would nationally. The average comes to $26,780, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- West Virginia ranks 47 of 51 for fast food and counter workers, with a median of $26,070 — about 16.44% 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.
- Fast food and counter workers occupies position 467 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.
- Post-tax income for fast food and counter workers in West Virginia, on $26,070, is $22,472 — equivalent to $25,033 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $26,780 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Fast Food and Counter Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $18,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $26,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $35,150 |
| This salary | $26,070 |
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 | $22,472 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $23,079 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,283 |
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 | $25,334 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,514 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $26,070 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $18,750 and the ninetieth is $35,150 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind West Virginia's $22,472, worked from $26,070. 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 467 of 473.
- Two cautions on $25,033, the adjusted value of that $26,070 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 467 of 473 locally.
- The West Virginia median of $26,070 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $18,750 to $35,150. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The West Virginia take-home of $22,472, on $26,070 for work ranking 467 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 467 of 473 in the state.
- This $25,033 adjusted figure, worked from $26,070, 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 467 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 467 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $18,750 and the top tenth $35,150, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $25,033 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 $22,472 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 ($18,750 to $35,150) 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 $25,033 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 $22,472 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.