Medical Assistants in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,100
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$6,080
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,643
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
$37,180
Kept after tax
$31,100
Worth in national money
$34,643
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for medical assistants is on the low side in West Virginia. The middle earner gets $37,180. That is 48 of 51 states, and about 18.63% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 473 occupations West Virginia publishes, medical assistants lands at 369. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $37,180 you keep $31,100, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,643 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $38,090, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For medical assistants, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $37,180, ranking 48 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 18.63%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within West Virginia, this work ranks 369 of 473 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for medical assistants on $37,180 is $31,100. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,643 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 $38,090 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,350 |
| This salary | $37,180 |
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 | $31,100 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,054 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,657 |
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 | $35,992 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,004 |
| 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 medical assistants in West Virginia earn under $37,180 and half over. The published range runs $30,890 at the tenth percentile to $45,350 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind West Virginia's $31,100, worked from $37,180. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 369 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,643 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 369.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical assistants in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,890 to $45,350; 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.
- The West Virginia take-home of $31,100, on $37,180 for work ranking 369 of 473 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 369 of 473 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,643, worked from $37,180, 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 369 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $30,890 at the bottom tenth to $45,350 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $34,643.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; West Virginia then takes its own share, leaving $31,100.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,890 to $45,350) 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 $34,643 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 $31,100 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.