Occupational Health and Safety Specialists in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$66,650
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$19,910
23.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,243
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
$86,560
Kept after tax
$66,650
Worth in national money
$74,243
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $86,560, ranking 34 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in West Virginia. It ranks 55 out of 473 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $86,560 you keep $66,650 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $74,243 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $85,180.
- West Virginia occupies the middle band for occupational health and safety specialists: a median of $86,560, ranking 34 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within West Virginia, occupational health and safety specialists ranks 55 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.
- Retained pay in West Virginia is $66,650 after the full tax stack, from $86,560. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $74,243 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $85,180 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $86,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $128,850 |
| This salary | $86,560 |
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 | $66,650 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $69,725 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,491 |
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 | $82,189 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,441 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $86,560 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $42,130 and the ninetieth is $128,850 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $66,650, from $86,560, 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 55 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 $74,243 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 55.
- The West Virginia median of $86,560 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $42,130 to $128,850. 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 $66,650 from $86,560. 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 55 of 473 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $74,243, worked from $86,560, 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 55 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $42,130, the highest tenth $128,850, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $74,243 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, $66,650 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($42,130) and the ninetieth ($128,850) 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 $74,243 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 $66,650 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.