Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,454
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$9,886
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,404
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
$53,340
Kept after tax
$43,454
Worth in national money
$48,404
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. West Virginia pays this job a middle wage of $53,340, 50 of 51 states and about 32.15% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 473 occupations West Virginia reports figures for, this is number 213.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $53,340 you keep $43,454, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $48,404 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $53,230, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- West Virginia's $53,340 median for stationary engineers and boiler operators places it 50 of 51 states, about 32.15% 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.
- In West Virginia's occupational distribution, stationary engineers and boiler operators sits at 213 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 stationary engineers and boiler operators on $53,340 is $43,454. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $48,404 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 $53,230 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in 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: Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $53,340 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,420 |
| This salary | $53,340 |
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 | $43,454 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,039 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,056 |
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 | $51,367 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,487 |
| 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 $53,340. The published range is $49,120 up to $56,420, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind West Virginia's $43,454, worked from $53,340. 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 213 of 473.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $48,404 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 213.
- Reported values are medians; for stationary engineers and boiler operators in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $49,120 to $56,420. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The West Virginia take-home of $43,454, on $53,340 for work ranking 213 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 213 of 473 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $48,404, worked from $53,340, 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 213 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $49,120 and the top tenth $56,420, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $48,404 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 $43,454 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($49,120 to $56,420) 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 $48,404 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 $43,454 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.