Ophthalmic Medical Technicians in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,753
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$5,977
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,256
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
$36,730
Kept after tax
$30,753
Worth in national money
$34,256
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for ophthalmic medical technicians is on the low side in West Virginia. The middle earner gets $36,730. That is 47 of 51 states, and about 19.4% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 473 occupations West Virginia publishes, ophthalmic medical technicians lands at 374. 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 $36,730 you keep $30,753, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,256 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $37,500, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For ophthalmic medical technicians, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $36,730, ranking 47 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 19.4%. 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 374 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 ophthalmic medical technicians on $36,730 is $30,753. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,256 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 $37,500 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Ophthalmic Medical Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,180 |
| This salary | $36,730 |
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 | $30,753 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,693 |
| 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 | $35,560 |
|---|---|
| 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
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of ophthalmic medical technicians in West Virginia earn under $36,730 and half over. The published range runs $26,470 at the tenth percentile to $46,180 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 $30,753, worked from $36,730. 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 374 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 $34,256, the adjusted value of that $36,730 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 374 of 473 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for ophthalmic medical technicians in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $26,470 to $46,180; 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 $30,753, on $36,730 for work ranking 374 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 374 of 473 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $34,256 — the adjusted value of that $36,730 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 374 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $26,470 at the tenth percentile, $46,180 at the ninetieth.
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 $34,256.
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 $30,753 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($26,470 to $46,180) 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 $34,256 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 $30,753 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.