Food Processing Workers, All Other in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,540
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$6,210
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,133
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
$37,750
Kept after tax
$31,540
Worth in national money
$35,133
State rank
34
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for food processing workers, all other is on the low side in West Virginia. The middle earner gets $37,750. That is 34 of 46 states, and about 4.86% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 473 occupations West Virginia publishes, food processing workers, all other lands at 360. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $37,750 you keep $31,540 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $35,133 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $37,990, since top earners drag the number up.
- For food processing workers, all other, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $37,750, ranking 34 of 46 and trailing the national median by about 4.86%. 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, this work ranks 360 of 473 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay in West Virginia is $31,540 after the full tax stack, from $37,750. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,133 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $37,990 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,750 |
| Top tenth earn over | $39,770 |
| This salary | $37,750 |
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 | $31,540 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,512 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,676 |
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 | $36,540 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,027 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,750 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,870 and the ninetieth is $39,770 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $31,540, from $37,750, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 360 of 473 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of West Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $35,133, the adjusted value of that $37,750 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 360 of 473 in the state.
- The West Virginia median of $37,750 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,870 to $39,770. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for West Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,540 from $37,750. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 360 of 473 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $35,133 — the adjusted value of that $37,750 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 360 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,870 and the top tenth $39,770, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $35,133 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; West Virginia then takes its own share, leaving $31,540.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,870 to $39,770) 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 $35,133 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 $31,540 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.