Recreational Therapists in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,157
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$8,853
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,732
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
$49,010
Kept after tax
$40,157
Worth in national money
$44,732
State rank
43
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. West Virginia pays recreational therapists a middle wage of $49,010, 43 of 48 states and about 20.9% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Recreational therapists ranks 249 among 473 occupations West Virginia publishes pay for.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,010 you keep $40,157, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,732 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $59,120, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia's $49,010 median for recreational therapists places it 43 of 48 states, about 20.9% 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.
- Position 249 of 473 in West Virginia places recreational therapists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for recreational therapists on $49,010 is $40,157. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,732 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 $59,120 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Recreational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $118,410 |
| This salary | $49,010 |
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 | $40,157 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,560 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,965 |
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 | $47,265 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,376 |
| 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 recreational therapists in West Virginia earn under $49,010 and half over. The published range runs $36,580 at the tenth percentile to $118,410 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $40,157, from $49,010, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 249 of 473 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $44,732 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 249.
- Figures are distribution medians for recreational therapists in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,580 to $118,410; 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.
- Take-home for West Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $40,157 from $49,010. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 249 of 473 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,732, worked from $49,010, 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 249 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 $59,120, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $36,580 and the top tenth $118,410 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $44,732 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 $40,157.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $59,120. 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 ($36,580) and the ninetieth ($118,410) 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 $44,732 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 $40,157 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.