Operations Research Analysts in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,638
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$12,462
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,521
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
$64,100
Kept after tax
$51,638
Worth in national money
$57,521
State rank
43
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. West Virginia pays operations research analysts a middle wage of $64,100, 43 of 47 states and about 27.93% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 473 occupations West Virginia reports figures for, this is number 141.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $64,100 the take-home is $51,638; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $57,521 would nationally. The average comes to $71,320, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- West Virginia's $64,100 median for operations research analysts places it 43 of 47 states, about 27.93% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In West Virginia's occupational distribution, operations research analysts sits at 141 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 operations research analysts in West Virginia, on $64,100, is $51,638 — equivalent to $57,521 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 $71,320 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Operations Research Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,630 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $96,500 |
| This salary | $64,100 |
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 | $51,638 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,684 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,276 |
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 | $61,553 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,803 |
| 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 operations research analysts in West Virginia earn under $64,100 and half over. The published range runs $51,630 at the tenth percentile to $96,500 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 $51,638, worked from $64,100. 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 141 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $57,521 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 141.
- Figures are distribution medians for operations research analysts in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,630 to $96,500; 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 $51,638, on $64,100 for work ranking 141 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 141 of 473 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $57,521, worked from $64,100, 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 141 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $71,320, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $51,630 and the top tenth $96,500, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $57,521 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 $51,638 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $71,320. 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 ($51,630 to $96,500) 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 $57,521 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 $51,638 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.