Sheet Metal Workers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$57,330
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$15,060
20.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$63,862
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
$72,390
Kept after tax
$57,330
Worth in national money
$63,862
State rank
14
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. West Virginia pays sheet metal workers a middle wage of $72,390, ranking 14 of 50 states and sitting about 17.14% above the national middle.
- Within West Virginia this is well-paid work. Of 473 occupations with published figures in the state, sheet metal workers ranks 111 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $72,390 you keep $57,330, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $63,862 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $61,250, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- West Virginia's median for sheet metal workers is $72,390, about 17.14% above the national figure and 14 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation West Virginia publishes a median for, sheet metal workers sits 111 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 sheet metal workers on $72,390 is $57,330. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $63,862 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 $61,250 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Sheet Metal Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $72,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,020 |
| This salary | $72,390 |
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 | $57,330 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $59,756 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,368 |
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 | $68,941 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,271 |
| 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 sheet metal workers in West Virginia earn under $72,390 and half over. The published range runs $38,170 at the tenth percentile to $76,020 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $57,330 take-home in West Virginia comes from $72,390. 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 111 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $63,862 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 111.
- Figures are distribution medians for sheet metal workers in West Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,170 to $76,020; 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.
- Retained pay of $57,330, from $72,390, 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 111 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 14 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $63,862, worked from $72,390, 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 111 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 $61,250, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,170 at the bottom tenth to $76,020 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in West Virginia sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $63,862 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $57,330.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 $61,250. 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 ($38,170 to $76,020) 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 $63,862 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 $57,330 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.