Median pay · West Virginia
$61,100A year, or $29 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile1 in 10 earn less | $40,520 | $19 |
| 25th percentile | $47,990 | $23 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $61,100 | $29 |
| 75th percentile | $82,480 | $40 |
| 90th percentile1 in 10 earn more | $88,690 | $43 |
| MeanAll pay divided by all jobs | $64,600 | $31 |
Wage survey · BLS May 2025
How we got this
- Median wage in West VirginiaBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of the people in this job were paid more than this, half less.$61,100
- Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$29.38
- Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$4,113 a month at an effective rate of 19.2%.$49,361 a year
- Worth at national average pricesPrices in West Virginia sit at 89.5 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$68,270
- Against the national medianThe national median is $62,470.2.2% below
- Jobs countedA concentration of 0.38 against the nation's 1.00.350
What we assumed
- Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
- OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
- Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
- Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
What lands in the bank
Tax year 2026 · InteractiveEstimated on the median salary of $61,100 in West Virginia, for a single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026. Explore other wage levels and filing statuses below.
Run the numbers on your own pay
Same U.S. tax tables as the rest of the site. Change the salary, state, or filing status.
What $61,100 is worth in West Virginia
Prices in West Virginia sit at 89.5 against a national average of 100, so $61,100 earned here buys what $68,270 buys at national average prices.
- Rents. 54.2 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
- Against local households. The median household in West Virginia takes in $59,608, so this occupation's median is 1.03 times that, on one income.
- How common the job is here. 62% less concentrated in West Virginia than in the country as a whole.
Reading the numbers
What stands out for chefs and head cooks in West Virginia
Rents in West Virginia index at 54.2 (U.S. = 100) while prices overall index at 89.5, a gap of -35.3 pts. For a renter, housing moves the local cost of living more than anything else.
Prices in West Virginia index at 89.5 (U.S. = 100), so the $61,100 median buys roughly what $68,270 would at national prices, $7,170 more.
Only 350 of these jobs were counted in West Virginia (a location quotient of 0.38). With a sample that small, the percentiles can move noticeably from one year's survey to the next.
Common questions
Chefs and Head Cooks pay in West Virginia, answered
How much do chefs and head cooks make in West Virginia?
The median wage for chefs and head cooks in West Virginia is $61,100 a year, or $29.38 an hour.
Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.
What is the average Chefs and Head Cooks salary in West Virginia?
BLS’s mean (average) wage for chefs and head cooks in West Virginia is $64,600 a year. The median is $61,100.
The mean sits higher when a smaller group of high earners pulls the average up. For a typical paycheck, the median is the better middle.
What is the hourly pay for chefs and head cooks in West Virginia?
The median hourly wage is $29.38. At a full-time year that lines up with about $61,100 a year.
BLS May 2025; hourly and annual figures come from the same survey.
What is the starting salary for chefs and head cooks in West Virginia?
BLS does not publish starting pay. The closest figure it does publish is the low end of the range: in West Virginia, the lowest-paid 10% of chefs and head cooks earn under $40,520 a year and a quarter earn under $47,990 ($19.48 and $23.07 an hour).
New hires often start somewhere in that band, but the May 2025 survey does not record experience, so read it as a floor to compare an offer against rather than a typical first salary.
What is the salary range for chefs and head cooks in West Virginia?
The overall salary range for chefs and head cooks in West Virginia spans from $40,520 for the bottom 10% to $88,690 for top earners.
The middle 50% earn between $47,990 and $82,480 a year, with the overall median at $61,100.
What is the take-home pay for chefs and head cooks in West Virginia?
On the median wage of $61,100, a single filer taking the 2026 standard deduction keeps an estimated $49,361 a year, or roughly $4,113 a month.
That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 19.2%.
West Virginia takes $1,913 of it in state income tax.
How much does chefs and head cooks make a month in West Virginia?
On the median annual salary of $61,100, estimated take-home pay is roughly $4,113 a month after federal, state, and FICA taxes.
For workers paid on a standard biweekly schedule (26 pay periods per year), each paycheck is approximately $1,899 net.
Do chefs and head cooks earn more in West Virginia than in the rest of the country?
No. The median in West Virginia is 2.2% below the national median of $62,470.
Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in West Virginia sit at 89.5 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.
Is $61,100 a good salary in West Virginia?
It is 1.03 times the median household income of $59,608. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.
Prices in West Virginia run at 89.5 against a national average of 100, with rents at 54.2, so $61,100 here buys about what $68,270 buys at national average prices.
What do the highest-paid chefs and head cooks earn in West Virginia?
The top tenth earn $88,690 a year or more. The 10th-percentile wage is $40,520.
Experience, specialty, employer and the part of West Virginia someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.
How many chefs and head cooks are there in West Virginia?
The survey counted 350 of these jobs in West Virginia for May 2025.
That makes the occupation 62% less concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.