School Psychologists in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,191
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$16,029
21.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,935
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
$75,220
Kept after tax
$59,191
Worth in national money
$65,935
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for school psychologists. The middle earner takes $75,220, ranking 39 of 51 states — about 21.64% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within West Virginia this is well-paid work. Of 473 occupations with published figures in the state, school psychologists ranks 97 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $75,220 you keep $59,191, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $65,935 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $76,850, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 39 of 51 for school psychologists, with a median of $75,220 — about 21.64% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation West Virginia publishes a median for, school psychologists sits 97 of 473 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for school psychologists on $75,220 is $59,191. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $65,935 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 $76,850 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: School Psychologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $75,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,610 |
| This salary | $75,220 |
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 | $59,191 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,747 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,393 |
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 | $71,587 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,305 |
| 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 school psychologists in West Virginia earn under $75,220 and half over. The published range runs $58,690 at the tenth percentile to $99,610 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $59,191, from $75,220, 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 97 of 473 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $65,935, the adjusted value of that $75,220 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of West Virginia. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 97 of 473 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for school psychologists in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $58,690 to $99,610; 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 $59,191 from $75,220. 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 97 of 473 locally.
- This $65,935 adjusted figure, worked from $75,220, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 97 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 97 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $58,690 and the top tenth $99,610, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $65,935.
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 $59,191 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($58,690 to $99,610) 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 $65,935 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 $59,191 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.