Pharmacists in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$97,243
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$36,187
27.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$108,323
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
$133,430
Kept after tax
$97,243
Worth in national money
$108,323
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. West Virginia pays pharmacists a middle wage of $133,430, 47 of 51 states and about 5.31% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within West Virginia this is well-paid work. Of 473 occupations with published figures in the state, pharmacists ranks 10 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $133,430 the take-home is $97,243; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $108,323 would nationally. The average lands at $131,300, below the middle of the range.
- West Virginia's $133,430 median for pharmacists places it 47 of 51 states, about 5.31% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation West Virginia publishes a median for, pharmacists sits 10 of 473 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for pharmacists in West Virginia, on $133,430, is $97,243 — equivalent to $108,323 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 $131,300 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Pharmacists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $80,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $133,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $166,020 |
| This salary | $133,430 |
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 | $97,243 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $102,465 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,878 |
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 | $125,790 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,092 |
| 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 pharmacists in West Virginia earn under $133,430 and half over. The published range runs $80,900 at the tenth percentile to $166,020 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $97,243 take-home in West Virginia comes from $133,430. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 10 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $108,323 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 10.
- Figures are distribution medians for pharmacists in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $80,900 to $166,020; 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.
- Retained pay of $97,243, from $133,430, assumes a single West Virginia filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 10 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 47 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $108,323, worked from $133,430, 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 10 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $80,900 and the top tenth $166,020, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $108,323 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $97,243.
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 ($80,900 to $166,020) 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 $108,323 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 $97,243 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.