Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,692
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$9,648
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,556
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
$52,340
Kept after tax
$42,692
Worth in national money
$47,556
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in West Virginia. The middle earner gets $52,340. That is 51 of 51 states, and about 33.54% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 473 occupations West Virginia reports figures for, this is number 219.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $52,340 you keep $42,692 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $47,556 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $58,360, since top earners drag the number up.
- For market research analysts and marketing specialists, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $52,340, ranking 51 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 33.54%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In West Virginia's occupational distribution, market research analysts and marketing specialists sits at 219 of 473 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay in West Virginia is $42,692 after the full tax stack, from $52,340. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $47,556 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $58,360 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,160 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,340 |
| Top tenth earn over | $93,430 |
| This salary | $52,340 |
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 | $42,692 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,235 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,035 |
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 | $50,420 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,461 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $52,340 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,160 and the ninetieth is $93,430 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $42,692, from $52,340, 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 219 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 $47,556, the adjusted value of that $52,340 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 219 of 473 in the state.
- The West Virginia median of $52,340 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,160 to $93,430. 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 $42,692 from $52,340. 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 219 of 473 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $47,556 — the adjusted value of that $52,340 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 219 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 $58,360, 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?
The label is broader than the work. From $34,160 at the bottom tenth to $93,430 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $47,556 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 $42,692 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 $58,360. 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 ($34,160) and the ninetieth ($93,430) 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 $47,556 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 $42,692 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.