Prices, pay, taxes, homes and family budgets, county by county, from the same official data the site's calculators use.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures price levels in every state against a national average of 100. West Virginia scores 89.5 overall, so a $75,000 salary at average US prices buys what $67,123 buys here. Compare any salary with another state.
| Price level | West Virginia (US = 100) | Rank, most expensive first |
|---|---|---|
| Everything | 89.5 | 43rd of 51 |
| Rents | 54.2 | 51st of 51 |
| Goods | 96.5 | — |
| Other services | 99.9 | — |
Home electricity averaged 15.07 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2024, against 17.06 across all states. A gallon of regular gas cost $3.95 at the end of August 2026, against $4.12.
Across all 701,610 jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts in West Virginia, the median pay is $45,300 a year, or $21.78 an hour; that ranks 49th of the 50 states and DC. One worker in ten earns less than $26,070 and one in ten more than $98,220.
West Virginia taxes wages in brackets, with a top rate of 4.58%. The brackets in West Virginia. A single filer on the median $45,300, with no retirement or health deductions, takes home about $37,248 a year, or $1,433 every two weeks, after $3,256 of federal income tax, $3,465 of Social Security and Medicare and $1,330 of state income tax. Work out your own paycheck in West Virginia.
The five occupations employing the most people, with their median annual pay:
| Occupation | Jobs | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 23,430 | $80,130 |
| Retail Salespersons | 19,050 | $28,950 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 18,890 | $28,010 |
| Cashiers | 17,360 | $26,370 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | 16,490 | $23,120 |
Of the 20 largest occupations, the best paid are general and operations managers ($82,500), registered nurses ($80,130), first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers ($53,660). See what common jobs pay in every state.
Across the 55 West Virginia counties with their own Zillow home value, the median typical home is worth $153,847, and across the 15 with their own rent figure the median typical rent is $1,105 a month. A typical home costs 2.17 years of the county's median family income, at the median county.
With 10% down at 7.03%, the average 30-year rate on September 24, 2026, that home costs about $1,293 a month with tax, insurance and mortgage insurance, which takes $55,424 a year of income under the usual 28% guideline. The median family can afford its own county's typical home in 78.2% of West Virginia's counties, against 44.9% of counties nationally. Try it with your own income.
At the median county, home values changed +3.0% over the past year and +21.2% over five years, and rents +3.9% over the past year.
The most expensive West Virginia counties are Jefferson County ($401,792), Berkeley County ($324,097) and Morgan County ($307,997); the least expensive are McDowell County ($36,987), Wyoming County ($65,672) and Mingo County ($73,695).
The Economic Policy Institute prices what a modest but adequate standard of living costs in every county: housing, food, transport, healthcare, childcare, other necessities and taxes. In the median West Virginia county, that comes to $47,113 a year for one adult and $110,614 for two adults and two children, of which $16,510 is childcare. The national averages are $47,367 and $101,771. Median family income in the median county is $70,457.
| Two adults, two children | Per year, median county | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $10,224 | $852 |
| Food | $11,082 | $924 |
| Transportation | $18,455 | $1,538 |
| Healthcare | $28,899 | $2,408 |
| Childcare | $16,510 | $1,376 |
| Other necessities | $6,757 | $563 |
| Taxes | $18,461 | $1,538 |
Each line is its own median across counties, so the lines do not add up exactly to the total.
The Department of Education's College Scorecard lists 67 colleges in West Virginia, 40 of them public. The median public college reports a cost of attendance of $18,816 a year, covering tuition, housing, books and other expenses. Ten years after enrolling, the median school's former students earn $37,715. Compare degrees and schools.
| Barbour County | $118,671 | −1.5% | — | $63,491 | $106,614 |
| Berkeley County | $324,097 | +4.0% | $1,749 | $90,470 | $122,151 |
| Boone County | $92,024 | −0.3% | — | $71,136 | $114,972 |
| Braxton County | $138,603 | −2.1% | — | $48,722 | $108,735 |
| Brooke County | $128,883 | −0.3% | $1,077 | $77,257 | $107,866 |
| Cabell County | $170,231 | +4.0% | $1,092 | $73,696 | $115,648 |
| Calhoun County | $103,434 | +14.1% | — | $47,602 | $107,814 |
| Clay County | $119,948 | +1.9% | — | $57,145 | $108,691 |
| Doddridge County | $137,838 | +11.5% | — | $78,909 | $109,463 |
| Fayette County | $136,463 | +2.4% | — | $67,907 | $114,805 |
| Gilmer County | $121,708 | +7.2% | — | $58,250 | $107,179 |
| Grant County | $183,180 | +3.3% | — | $74,987 | $102,921 |
| Greenbrier County | $209,182 | +4.2% | — | $66,416 | $113,367 |
| Hampshire County | $258,391 | +2.7% | — | $76,186 | $115,694 |
| Hancock County | $143,813 | +8.7% | $756 | $78,883 | $116,845 |
| Hardy County | $227,455 | +4.9% | — | $62,064 | $107,334 |
| Harrison County | $150,126 | +1.8% | $1,105 | $78,497 | $115,379 |
| Jackson County | $203,073 | +3.5% | — | $76,909 | $119,056 |
| Jefferson County | $401,792 | +3.9% | $1,908 | $118,108 | $125,483 |
| Kanawha County | $154,657 | +1.8% | $1,266 | $76,439 | $116,764 |
| Lewis County | $129,504 | −2.7% | — | $71,250 | $106,677 |
| Lincoln County | $98,180 | −11.1% | — | $57,927 | $114,211 |
| Logan County | $107,934 | +0.9% | — | $55,258 | $107,409 |
| Marion County | $168,932 | +2.5% | $1,184 | $83,771 | $116,965 |
| Marshall County | $138,396 | +5.3% | — | $72,016 | $115,058 |
| Mason County | $159,636 | +6.0% | — | $70,457 | $109,831 |
| McDowell County | $36,987 | −17.1% | — | $39,226 | $109,758 |
| Mercer County | $147,135 | −0.4% | $820 | $66,047 | $107,191 |
| Mineral County | $198,656 | +1.4% | — | $87,408 | $111,403 |
| Mingo County | $73,695 | −2.7% | — | $51,322 | $108,480 |
| Monongalia County | $268,559 | +3.2% | $1,481 | $102,354 | $117,568 |
| Monroe County | $196,128 | +7.9% | — | $68,030 | $110,614 |
| Morgan County | $307,997 | +3.8% | $1,233 | $76,288 | $116,976 |
| Nicholas County | $157,709 | +7.6% | — | $72,554 | $109,075 |
| Ohio County | $161,591 | +4.7% | $920 | $87,769 | $112,071 |
| Pendleton County | $217,406 | +11.6% | — | $65,994 | $105,834 |
| Pleasants County | $164,416 | +3.0% | — | $76,857 | $110,963 |
| Pocahontas County | $183,938 | +4.7% | — | $58,348 | $110,500 |
| Preston County | $142,922 | +6.9% | — | $75,334 | $118,828 |
| Putnam County | $252,964 | +4.6% | $1,447 | $93,927 | $127,897 |
| Raleigh County | $160,333 | +0.6% | $1,061 | $68,685 | $115,109 |
| Randolph County | $162,125 | +1.3% | — | $69,215 | $107,948 |
| Ritchie County | $115,968 | −5.1% | — | $61,089 | $111,339 |
| Roane County | $127,523 | +6.4% | — | $52,124 | $107,382 |
| Summers County | $161,069 | +6.5% | — | $64,814 | $110,354 |
| Taylor County | $193,920 | +3.1% | — | $66,949 | $110,320 |
| Tucker County | $210,014 | +0.7% | — | $70,809 | $108,700 |
| Tyler County | $109,202 | +1.0% | — | $81,222 | $112,322 |
| Upshur County | $153,847 | +3.4% | — | $67,121 | $109,705 |
| Wayne County | $144,411 | +6.4% | — | $72,296 | $119,104 |
| Webster County | $83,346 | −3.0% | — | $49,881 | $106,231 |
| Wetzel County | $113,179 | +1.9% | — | $69,080 | $109,392 |
| Wirt County | $110,402 | −1.3% | — | $60,792 | $108,859 |
| Wood County | $175,227 | +1.8% | $947 | $75,176 | $114,861 |
| Wyoming County | $65,672 | +0.8% | — | $54,866 | $111,648 |
A dash means the source publishes no figure for that county. Home values and rents are Zillow's own county figures only; counties Zillow does not cover are left blank rather than filled with a state average.
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Cost of living · Income tax · Child care costs
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County figures are medians across West Virginia's counties, each counting once, so they describe the spread of places rather than of people. Property tax and insurance vary widely; the calculators let you use your own.