First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,573
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$15,707
21.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,246
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
$74,280
Kept after tax
$58,573
Worth in national money
$65,246
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in West Virginia. The middle earner gets $74,280. That is 47 of 51 states, and about 29.95% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in West Virginia. It ranks 102 out of 473 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $74,280 you keep $58,573, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $65,246 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $75,730, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For first-line supervisors of police and detectives, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $74,280, ranking 47 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 29.95%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within West Virginia, first-line supervisors of police and detectives ranks 102 of 473 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for first-line supervisors of police and detectives on $74,280 is $58,573. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $65,246 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 $75,730 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $88,880 |
| This salary | $74,280 |
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 | $58,573 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,086 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,385 |
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 | $70,708 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,294 |
| 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 $74,280. The published range is $51,380 up to $88,880, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $58,573 take-home in West Virginia comes from $74,280. 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 102 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 $65,246, the adjusted value of that $74,280 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 102 of 473 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for first-line supervisors of police and detectives in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,380 to $88,880. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $58,573, from $74,280, 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 102 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 47 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $65,246 — the adjusted value of that $74,280 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 102 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $51,380 at the bottom tenth to $88,880 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $65,246.
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, $58,573 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($51,380 to $88,880) 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 $65,246 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 $58,573 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.