Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,403
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$4,397
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,298
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
$29,800
Kept after tax
$25,403
Worth in national money
$28,298
State rank
40
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $29,800, ranking 40 of 51 states — about 18.98% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in West Virginia, this one sits low: 439 of 473 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $29,800 you keep $25,403, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $28,298 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $31,560, because the best-paid pull it up.
- West Virginia ranks 40 of 51 for teaching assistants, except postsecondary, with a median of $29,800 — about 18.98% 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.
- Teaching assistants, except postsecondary occupies position 439 of 473 in West Virginia's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for teaching assistants, except postsecondary on $29,800 is $25,403. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $28,298 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 $31,560 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,750 |
| This salary | $29,800 |
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 | $25,403 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,124 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,414 |
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 | $28,903 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,710 |
| 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 $29,800. The published range is $27,400 up to $36,750, 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 $25,403, worked from $29,800. 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 439 of 473.
- Two cautions on $28,298, the adjusted value of that $29,800 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of West Virginia. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 439 of 473 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for teaching assistants, except postsecondary in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $27,400 to $36,750. 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 $25,403, on $29,800 for work ranking 439 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 439 of 473 in the state.
- This $28,298 adjusted figure, worked from $29,800, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 439 of 473 in the state. The occupation ranks 439 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $31,560, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $27,400 at the tenth percentile, $36,750 at the ninetieth.
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 $28,298 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and West Virginia's own levy, $25,403 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $31,560. 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 ($27,400 to $36,750) 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 $28,298 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 $25,403 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.