Nursing Assistants in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,745
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$5,975
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,248
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
$36,720
Kept after tax
$30,745
Worth in national money
$34,248
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for nursing assistants. The middle earner takes $36,720, ranking 46 of 51 states — about 13.11% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in West Virginia, this one sits low: 375 of 473 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,720 you keep $30,745, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,248 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $37,490, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 46 of 51 for nursing assistants, with a median of $36,720 — about 13.11% 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.
- Nursing assistants occupies position 375 of 473 in West Virginia's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for nursing assistants on $36,720 is $30,745. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,248 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 $37,490 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Nursing Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,720 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,290 |
| This salary | $36,720 |
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 | $30,745 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,685 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,642 |
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 | $35,551 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,986 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $36,720 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,060 and the ninetieth is $45,290 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind West Virginia's $30,745, worked from $36,720. 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 375 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 $34,248, the adjusted value of that $36,720 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 375 of 473 in the state.
- The West Virginia median of $36,720 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,060 to $45,290. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The West Virginia take-home of $30,745, on $36,720 for work ranking 375 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 375 of 473 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $34,248 — the adjusted value of that $36,720 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 375 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,060 and the top tenth $45,290, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $34,248.
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, $30,745 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,060 to $45,290) 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 $34,248 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 $30,745 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.