Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,014
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$10,376
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,143
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
$55,390
Kept after tax
$45,014
Worth in national money
$50,143
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in West Virginia. The middle earner gets $55,390. That is 49 of 51 states, and about 25.41% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 473 occupations West Virginia reports figures for, this is number 201.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $55,390 you keep $45,014, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $50,143 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $56,350, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For special education teachers, secondary school, West Virginia sits in the lower band at $55,390, ranking 49 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 25.41%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In West Virginia's occupational distribution, special education teachers, secondary school sits at 201 of 473 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for special education teachers, secondary school on $55,390 is $45,014. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $50,143 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 $56,350 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,650 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,270 |
| This salary | $55,390 |
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 | $45,014 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,686 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,100 |
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 | $53,310 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,540 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $55,390 as a midpoint for West Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $47,650 and the ninetieth is $69,270 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $45,014 take-home in West Virginia comes from $55,390. 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 201 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,143 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 201.
- The West Virginia median of $55,390 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $47,650 to $69,270. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $45,014, from $55,390, 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 201 of 473 locally, and the state ranks 49 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,143, worked from $55,390, 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 201 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $47,650 and the top tenth $69,270, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $50,143 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 $45,014.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,650 to $69,270) 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 $50,143 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 $45,014 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.