Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$21,160
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$3,260
13.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$23,571
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
$24,420
Kept after tax
$21,160
Worth in national money
$23,571
State rank
48
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 $24,420, ranking 48 of 51 states — about 21.73% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in West Virginia, this one sits low: 470 of 473 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $24,420 you keep $21,160, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $23,571 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $25,510, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 48 of 51 for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop, with a median of $24,420 — about 21.73% 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.
- Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop occupies position 470 of 473 in West Virginia's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop on $24,420 is $21,160. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $23,571 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 $25,510 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $19,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $24,420 |
| Top tenth earn over | $30,460 |
| This salary | $24,420 |
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 | $21,160 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $21,720 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,219 |
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 | $23,740 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,439 |
| 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 $24,420. The published range is $19,640 up to $30,460, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $21,160 take-home in West Virginia comes from $24,420. 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 470 of 473.
- Two cautions on $23,571, the adjusted value of that $24,420 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 470 of 473 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $19,640 to $30,460. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $21,160, from $24,420, 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 470 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 51 for it.
- This $23,571 adjusted figure, worked from $24,420, 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 470 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 470 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 $25,510, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $19,640 at the tenth percentile, $30,460 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in West Virginia sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $23,571 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $21,160 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $25,510. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($19,640 to $30,460) 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 $23,571 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 $21,160 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.