Pharmacy Technicians in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,895
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$6,315
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,529
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
$38,210
Kept after tax
$31,895
Worth in national money
$35,529
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for pharmacy technicians. The middle earner takes $38,210, ranking 51 of 51 states — about 16.48% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 473 occupations West Virginia reports figures for, this is number 350.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $38,210 you keep $31,895 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $35,529 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $40,250, since top earners drag the number up.
- West Virginia ranks 51 of 51 for pharmacy technicians, with a median of $38,210 — about 16.48% 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.
- In West Virginia's occupational distribution, pharmacy technicians sits at 350 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.
- Retained pay in West Virginia is $31,895 after the full tax stack, from $38,210. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,529 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $40,250 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Pharmacy Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,210 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,460 |
| This salary | $38,210 |
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 | $31,895 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,882 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,691 |
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 | $36,982 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,045 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,210 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,490 and the ninetieth is $48,460 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $31,895 take-home in West Virginia comes from $38,210. 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 350 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 $35,529, the adjusted value of that $38,210 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 350 of 473 in the state.
- The West Virginia median of $38,210 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,490 to $48,460. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $31,895, from $38,210, 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 350 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 51 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $35,529 — the adjusted value of that $38,210 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 350 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $40,250 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $30,490 at the bottom tenth to $48,460 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 $35,529.
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, $31,895 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.
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 $40,250. 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 ($30,490 to $48,460) 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 $35,529 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 $31,895 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.