Natural Sciences Managers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$100,164
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$37,846
27.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$111,576
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
$138,010
Kept after tax
$100,164
Worth in national money
$111,576
State rank
15
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is one of the better-paying states for natural sciences managers. The middle earner takes $138,010, which ranks 15 of 48 states with published figures. That is about 17.47% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in West Virginia. It ranks 9 out of 473 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $138,010 you keep $100,164, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $111,576 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $143,790, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 15 of 48 states publishing a median for natural sciences managers, at $138,010 — about 17.47% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Within West Virginia, natural sciences managers ranks 9 of 473 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for natural sciences managers on $138,010 is $100,164. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $111,576 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 $143,790 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Natural Sciences Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $100,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $138,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $185,220 |
| This salary | $138,010 |
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 | $100,164 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $105,596 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,910 |
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 | $130,063 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,138 |
| 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 $138,010. The published range is $100,140 up to $185,220, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $100,164, from $138,010, 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 9 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 $111,576 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 9.
- Reported values are medians; for natural sciences managers in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $100,140 to $185,220. 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 $100,164 from $138,010. 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 9 of 473 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $111,576, worked from $138,010, 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 9 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $143,790, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $100,140 at the bottom tenth to $185,220 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $111,576 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and West Virginia's own levy, $100,164 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $143,790. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($100,140 to $185,220) 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 $111,576 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 $100,164 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.