Light Truck Drivers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,397
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$6,463
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,088
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
$38,860
Kept after tax
$32,397
Worth in national money
$36,088
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for light truck drivers. The middle earner takes $38,860, ranking 47 of 51 states — about 13.37% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Light truck drivers ranks 343 among 473 occupations West Virginia publishes pay for.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $38,860 the take-home is $32,397; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $36,088 would nationally. The average comes to $46,530, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- West Virginia ranks 47 of 51 for light truck drivers, with a median of $38,860 — about 13.37% 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 343 of 473 in West Virginia places light truck drivers 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 light truck drivers in West Virginia, on $38,860, is $32,397 — equivalent to $36,088 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 $46,530 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Light Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,950 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $93,790 |
| This salary | $38,860 |
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 | $32,397 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,404 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,713 |
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 | $37,606 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,071 |
| 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 light truck drivers in West Virginia earn under $38,860 and half over. The published range runs $23,950 at the tenth percentile to $93,790 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $32,397, from $38,860, 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 343 of 473 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,088 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 343.
- Figures are distribution medians for light truck drivers in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $23,950 to $93,790; 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.
- Take-home for West Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $32,397 from $38,860. 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 343 of 473 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,088, worked from $38,860, 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 343 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $46,530, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $23,950 and the top tenth $93,790 — 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 $36,088.
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 $32,397 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 $46,530. 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 ($23,950) and the ninetieth ($93,790) 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 $36,088 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 $32,397 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.