Physician Assistants in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$94,170
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$34,440
26.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$104,899
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
$128,610
Kept after tax
$94,170
Worth in national money
$104,899
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. West Virginia pays physician assistants a middle wage of $128,610, 42 of 51 states and about 5.35% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in West Virginia. It ranks 12 out of 473 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $128,610 the take-home is $94,170; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $104,899 would nationally. The average comes to $128,830, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- West Virginia's $128,610 median for physician assistants places it 42 of 51 states, about 5.35% 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.
- Within West Virginia, physician assistants ranks 12 of 473 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for physician assistants in West Virginia, on $128,610, is $94,170 — equivalent to $104,899 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 $128,830 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physician Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $98,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $128,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $160,890 |
| This salary | $128,610 |
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 | $94,170 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,171 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,845 |
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 | $121,307 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,044 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in West Virginia earn less than $128,610. The published range is $98,200 up to $160,890, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $94,170 take-home in West Virginia comes from $128,610. 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 12 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $104,899 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 12.
- Reported values are medians; for physician assistants in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $98,200 to $160,890. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $94,170, from $128,610, 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 12 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 42 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $104,899, worked from $128,610, 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 12 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $98,200 at the bottom tenth to $160,890 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 $104,899.
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 $94,170 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($98,200 to $160,890) 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 $104,899 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 $94,170 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.