Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,977
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$8,483
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,418
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
$47,460
Kept after tax
$38,977
Worth in national money
$43,418
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for payroll and timekeeping clerks. The middle earner takes $47,460, ranking 48 of 51 states — about 18.54% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Payroll and timekeeping clerks ranks 264 among 473 occupations West Virginia publishes pay for.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $47,460 you keep $38,977, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $43,418 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $47,820, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 48 of 51 for payroll and timekeeping clerks, with a median of $47,460 — about 18.54% 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.
- Position 264 of 473 in West Virginia places payroll and timekeeping clerks in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for payroll and timekeeping clerks on $47,460 is $38,977. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $43,418 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 $47,820 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,390 |
| This salary | $47,460 |
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 | $38,977 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,314 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,932 |
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 | $45,796 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,336 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $47,460 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,990 and the ninetieth is $63,390 — 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 $38,977, worked from $47,460. 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 264 of 473.
- Two cautions on $43,418, the adjusted value of that $47,460 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of West Virginia. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 264 of 473 locally.
- The West Virginia median of $47,460 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,990 to $63,390. 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 $38,977, on $47,460 for work ranking 264 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 264 of 473 in the state.
- This $43,418 adjusted figure, worked from $47,460, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 264 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 264 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $30,990 at the bottom tenth to $63,390 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $43,418.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; West Virginia then takes its own share, leaving $38,977.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,990 to $63,390) 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 $43,418 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 $38,977 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.