Legal Support Workers, All Other in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,395
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$10,495
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,567
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
$55,890
Kept after tax
$45,395
Worth in national money
$50,567
State rank
39
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for legal support workers, all other. The middle earner takes $55,890, ranking 39 of 45 states — about 22.49% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Legal support workers, all other ranks 196 among 473 occupations West Virginia publishes pay for.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $55,890 you keep $45,395, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $50,567 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $70,100, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 39 of 45 for legal support workers, all other, with a median of $55,890 — about 22.49% 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.
- Position 196 of 473 in West Virginia places legal support workers, all other in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for legal support workers, all other on $55,890 is $45,395. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $50,567 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 $70,100 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Legal Support Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $174,800 |
| This salary | $55,890 |
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 | $45,395 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,088 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,110 |
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 | $53,783 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,552 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $55,890 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,890 and the ninetieth is $174,800 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $45,395, from $55,890, 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 196 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 $50,567, the adjusted value of that $55,890 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 196 of 473 in the state.
- The West Virginia median of $55,890 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,890 to $174,800. 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 $45,395 from $55,890. 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 196 of 473 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $50,567 — the adjusted value of that $55,890 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 196 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 $70,100 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $31,890 and the top tenth $174,800 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $50,567.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and West Virginia's own levy, $45,395 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $70,100. 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 ($31,890) and the ninetieth ($174,800) 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 $50,567 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 $45,395 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.