Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,515
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$8,965
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,131
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
$49,480
Kept after tax
$40,515
Worth in national money
$45,131
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $49,480, ranking 50 of 51 states — about 15.62% 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 243.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,480 you keep $40,515, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $45,131 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $52,440, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 50 of 51 for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, with a median of $49,480 — about 15.62% 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, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers sits at 243 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.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers on $49,480 is $40,515. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $45,131 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 $52,440 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,230 |
| This salary | $49,480 |
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 | $40,515 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,937 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,975 |
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 | $47,710 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,388 |
| 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 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in West Virginia earn under $49,480 and half over. The published range runs $36,350 at the tenth percentile to $72,230 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $40,515 take-home in West Virginia comes from $49,480. 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 243 of 473.
- Two cautions on $45,131, the adjusted value of that $49,480 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 243 of 473 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,350 to $72,230; 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.
- Retained pay of $40,515, from $49,480, 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 243 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 50 of 51 for it.
- This $45,131 adjusted figure, worked from $49,480, 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 243 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 243 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 $52,440, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $36,350, the highest tenth $72,230, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $45,131 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 $40,515.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $52,440. 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 ($36,350) and the ninetieth ($72,230) 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 $45,131 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 $40,515 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.