Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,744
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$16,316
21.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,551
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
$76,060
Kept after tax
$59,744
Worth in national money
$66,551
State rank
42
of 50 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 $76,060. That is 42 of 50 states, and about 25.37% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 473 occupations West Virginia reports, this job comes in at 95 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $76,060 you keep $59,744, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $66,551 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $83,010, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $76,060, ranking 42 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 25.37%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers ranks 95 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 geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers on $76,060 is $59,744. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $66,551 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 $83,010 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $120,250 |
| This salary | $76,060 |
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 | $59,744 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,338 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,400 |
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 | $72,372 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,315 |
| 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 $76,060. The published range is $52,770 up to $120,250, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind West Virginia's $59,744, worked from $76,060. 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 95 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 $66,551, the adjusted value of that $76,060 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 95 of 473 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $52,770 to $120,250. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The West Virginia take-home of $59,744, on $76,060 for work ranking 95 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 95 of 473 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $66,551 — the adjusted value of that $76,060 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 95 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $83,010 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $52,770 at the bottom tenth to $120,250 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $66,551.
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 $59,744 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 50 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 $83,010. 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 ($52,770) and the ninetieth ($120,250) 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 $66,551 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 $59,744 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.