First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,852
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$10,638
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,076
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
$56,490
Kept after tax
$45,852
Worth in national money
$51,076
State rank
44
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $56,490, ranking 44 of 49 states — about 27.55% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 473 occupations West Virginia reports figures for, this is number 192.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $56,490 you keep $45,852 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $51,076 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $63,990, since top earners drag the number up.
- West Virginia ranks 44 of 49 for first-line supervisors of correctional officers, with a median of $56,490 — about 27.55% 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.
- In West Virginia's occupational distribution, first-line supervisors of correctional officers sits at 192 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.
- Retained pay in West Virginia is $45,852 after the full tax stack, from $56,490. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $51,076 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $63,990 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $56,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $96,100 |
| This salary | $56,490 |
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 | $45,852 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,570 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,123 |
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 | $54,352 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,568 |
| 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 first-line supervisors of correctional officers in West Virginia earn under $56,490 and half over. The published range runs $39,850 at the tenth percentile to $96,100 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind West Virginia's $45,852, worked from $56,490. 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 192 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,076 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 192.
- Figures are distribution medians for first-line supervisors of correctional officers in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,850 to $96,100; 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.
- The West Virginia take-home of $45,852, on $56,490 for work ranking 192 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 192 of 473 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,076, worked from $56,490, 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 192 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $63,990, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $39,850 at the bottom tenth to $96,100 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 $51,076 in national terms.
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 $45,852 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 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 $63,990. 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 ($39,850) and the ninetieth ($96,100) 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 $51,076 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 $45,852 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.