Social Science Research Assistants in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,779
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$9,361
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,539
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
$51,140
Kept after tax
$41,779
Worth in national money
$46,539
State rank
31
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for social science research assistants. The middle earner takes $51,140, ranking 31 of 45 states — about 17.5% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Social science research assistants ranks 228 among 473 occupations West Virginia publishes pay for.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $51,140 the take-home is $41,779; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,539 would nationally. The average comes to $63,270, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- West Virginia ranks 31 of 45 for social science research assistants, with a median of $51,140 — about 17.5% 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.
- Position 228 of 473 in West Virginia places social science research assistants 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.
- Post-tax income for social science research assistants in West Virginia, on $51,140, is $41,779 — equivalent to $46,539 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $63,270 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Social Science Research Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,330 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $145,770 |
| This salary | $51,140 |
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 | $41,779 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,271 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,010 |
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 | $49,283 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,431 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in West Virginia earn less than $51,140. The published range is $30,330 up to $145,770, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $41,779 take-home in West Virginia comes from $51,140. 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 228 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,539 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 228.
- Reported values are medians; for social science research assistants in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,330 to $145,770. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $41,779, from $51,140, 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 228 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 31 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,539, worked from $51,140, 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 228 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $63,270 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $30,330 and the top tenth $145,770 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $46,539 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $41,779 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $63,270. 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 ($30,330) and the ninetieth ($145,770) 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 $46,539 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 $41,779 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.