Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,472
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$5,008
15.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,602
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
$32,480
Kept after tax
$27,472
Worth in national money
$30,602
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in West Virginia. The middle earner gets $32,480. That is 47 of 51 states, and about 14.84% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 473 occupations West Virginia publishes, this job lands at 419. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $32,480 you keep $27,472, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $30,602 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $37,650, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For preschool teachers, except special education, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $32,480, ranking 47 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 14.84%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within West Virginia, this work ranks 419 of 473 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for preschool teachers, except special education on $32,480 is $27,472. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $30,602 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 $37,650 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $32,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,810 |
| This salary | $32,480 |
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 | $27,472 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $28,278 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,502 |
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 | $31,477 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,817 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $32,480 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $23,520 and the ninetieth is $58,810 — 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 $27,472, worked from $32,480. 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 419 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,602 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 419.
- The West Virginia median of $32,480 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $23,520 to $58,810. 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 $27,472, on $32,480 for work ranking 419 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 419 of 473 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,602, worked from $32,480, 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 419 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $37,650, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $23,520 at the bottom tenth to $58,810 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. West Virginia is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $30,602 in national terms.
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 $27,472.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $37,650. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($23,520) and the ninetieth ($58,810) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $30,602 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 $27,472 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.