Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,991
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$10,369
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,117
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
$55,360
Kept after tax
$44,991
Worth in national money
$50,117
State rank
49
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 $55,360, ranking 49 of 51 states — about 14.04% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 203 among 473 occupations West Virginia publishes pay for.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $55,360 the take-home is $44,991; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $50,117 would nationally. The average comes to $56,190, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- West Virginia ranks 49 of 51 for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, with a median of $55,360 — about 14.04% 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 203 of 473 in West Virginia places licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses 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.
- Post-tax income for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses in West Virginia, on $55,360, is $44,991 — equivalent to $50,117 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $56,190 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $70,960 |
| This salary | $55,360 |
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 | $44,991 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,662 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,099 |
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 | $53,281 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,539 |
| 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 $55,360. The published range is $45,690 up to $70,960, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $44,991, from $55,360, 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 203 of 473 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $50,117, the adjusted value of that $55,360 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 203 of 473 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,690 to $70,960. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for West Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $44,991 from $55,360. 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 203 of 473 locally.
- This $50,117 adjusted figure, worked from $55,360, 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 203 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 203 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $45,690 at the tenth percentile, $70,960 at the ninetieth.
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 $50,117.
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 $44,991 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($45,690 to $70,960) 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 $50,117 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 $44,991 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.