Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,314
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$4,666
15.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,312
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
$30,980
Kept after tax
$26,314
Worth in national money
$29,312
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. West Virginia pays this job a middle wage of $30,980, 47 of 51 states and about 15.91% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within West Virginia this is lower-paid work. Of 473 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 430. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $30,980 you keep $26,314, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $29,312 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $33,190, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia's $30,980 median for janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners places it 47 of 51 states, about 15.91% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation West Virginia reports, janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners ranks 430 of 473, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners on $30,980 is $26,314. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $29,312 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 $33,190 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,700 |
| This salary | $30,980 |
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 | $26,314 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,072 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,453 |
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 | $30,036 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,757 |
| 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 janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners in West Virginia earn under $30,980 and half over. The published range runs $23,400 at the tenth percentile to $44,700 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind West Virginia's $26,314, worked from $30,980. 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 430 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $29,312 uses one figure for the whole of West Virginia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 473 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 430.
- Figures are distribution medians for janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $23,400 to $44,700; 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.
- The West Virginia take-home of $26,314, on $30,980 for work ranking 430 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 430 of 473 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $29,312, worked from $30,980, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular West Virginia address, on work sitting at 430 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 $33,190, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $23,400 and the top tenth $44,700, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $29,312.
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 $26,314 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 $33,190. 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 ($23,400 to $44,700) 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 $29,312 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 $26,314 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.