Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,513
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$16,717
21.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,408
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
$77,230
Kept after tax
$60,513
Worth in national money
$67,408
State rank
2
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. West Virginia pays this job a middle wage of $77,230, ranking 2 of 47 states and sitting about 31.68% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 473 occupations West Virginia reports, this job comes in at 88 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $77,230 the take-home is $60,513; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $67,408 would nationally. The average lands at $75,540, below the middle of the range.
- West Virginia's median for title examiners, abstractors, and searchers is $77,230, about 31.68% above the national figure and 2 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers ranks 88 of 473 occupations by median in West Virginia, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Post-tax income for title examiners, abstractors, and searchers in West Virginia, on $77,230, is $60,513 — equivalent to $67,408 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 $75,540 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,530 |
| This salary | $77,230 |
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 | $60,513 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,161 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,410 |
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 | $73,466 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,329 |
| 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 $77,230. The published range is $50,620 up to $98,530, 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 $60,513, worked from $77,230. 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 88 of 473.
- One number stands for prices across all of West Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $67,408, the adjusted value of that $77,230 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 88 of 473 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for title examiners, abstractors, and searchers in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $50,620 to $98,530. 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 $60,513, on $77,230 for work ranking 88 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 88 of 473 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $67,408 — the adjusted value of that $77,230 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 88 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $50,620 and the top tenth $98,530, 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 $67,408 in national terms.
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, $60,513 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($50,620 to $98,530) 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 $67,408 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 $60,513 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.