Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,343
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$5,857
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,801
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
$36,200
Kept after tax
$30,343
Worth in national money
$33,801
State rank
49
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. West Virginia pays this job a middle wage of $36,200, 49 of 49 states and about 27.43% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within West Virginia this is lower-paid work. Of 473 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 381. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,200 you keep $30,343, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,801 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $37,250, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia's $36,200 median for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners places it 49 of 49 states, about 27.43% 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.
- Against every occupation West Virginia reports, septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners ranks 381 of 473, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners on $36,200 is $30,343. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,801 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 $37,250 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $43,630 |
| This salary | $36,200 |
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 | $30,343 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,267 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,625 |
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 | $35,051 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,965 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $36,200 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $23,320 and the ninetieth is $43,630 — 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 $30,343, worked from $36,200. 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 381 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $33,801 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 381.
- The West Virginia median of $36,200 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $23,320 to $43,630. 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 $30,343, on $36,200 for work ranking 381 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 381 of 473 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,801, worked from $36,200, 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 381 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $23,320 at the bottom tenth to $43,630 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 $33,801.
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 $30,343 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($23,320 to $43,630) 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 $33,801 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 $30,343 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.