Mechanical Drafters in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,395
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$12,705
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,365
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
$65,100
Kept after tax
$52,395
Worth in national money
$58,365
State rank
29
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia sits in the middle of the pack for mechanical drafters. The median is $65,100, ranking 29 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 473 occupations West Virginia reports figures for, this is number 135.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $65,100 the take-home is $52,395; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $58,365 would nationally. The average comes to $70,340, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- West Virginia occupies the middle band for mechanical drafters: a median of $65,100, ranking 29 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In West Virginia's occupational distribution, mechanical drafters sits at 135 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.
- Post-tax income for mechanical drafters in West Virginia, on $65,100, is $52,395 — equivalent to $58,365 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 $70,340 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Mechanical Drafters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,270 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,540 |
| This salary | $65,100 |
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 | $52,395 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,488 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,293 |
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 | $62,496 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,968 |
| 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 mechanical drafters in West Virginia earn under $65,100 and half over. The published range runs $51,270 at the tenth percentile to $99,540 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $52,395 take-home in West Virginia comes from $65,100. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 135 of 473.
- One number stands for prices across all of West Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $58,365, the adjusted value of that $65,100 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 135 of 473 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for mechanical drafters in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,270 to $99,540; 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.
- Retained pay of $52,395, from $65,100, assumes a single West Virginia filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 135 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 47 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $58,365 — the adjusted value of that $65,100 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 135 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 $70,340 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?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $51,270, the highest tenth $99,540, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. West Virginia is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $58,365 in national terms.
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 $52,395 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $70,340. 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 ($51,270) and the ninetieth ($99,540) 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 $58,365 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 $52,395 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.