Prepress Technicians and Workers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,664
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$5,656
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,044
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
$35,320
Kept after tax
$29,664
Worth in national money
$33,044
State rank
44
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for prepress technicians and workers. The middle earner takes $35,320, ranking 44 of 45 states — about 27.46% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in West Virginia, this one sits low: 396 of 473 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $35,320 you keep $29,664, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,044 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $38,160, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 44 of 45 for prepress technicians and workers, with a median of $35,320 — about 27.46% 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.
- Prepress technicians and workers occupies position 396 of 473 in West Virginia's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for prepress technicians and workers on $35,320 is $29,664. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,044 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 $38,160 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Prepress Technicians and Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $53,400 |
| This salary | $35,320 |
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 | $29,664 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,560 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,596 |
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 | $34,206 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,930 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,320 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $28,380 and the ninetieth is $53,400 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $29,664 take-home in West Virginia comes from $35,320. 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 396 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $33,044 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 396.
- The West Virginia median of $35,320 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $28,380 to $53,400. 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 $29,664, from $35,320, 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 396 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 44 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,044, worked from $35,320, 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 396 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $38,160, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $28,380 at the tenth percentile, $53,400 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 $33,044.
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 $29,664.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $38,160. 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 ($28,380 to $53,400) 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 $33,044 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 $29,664 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.