West Virginia · BLS May 2025

How much do special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school make in West Virginia?

Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in West Virginia earn a median of $50,380 a year, about $3,433 a month after federal, state and FICA tax. Figure from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. The survey counted 1,690 of these jobs in West Virginia in May 2025.

Median pay · West Virginia

$50,380A year. BLS publishes no hourly wage for this occupation.
Take-home a month$3,433After federal, state and FICA tax at 18.2%
Worth at national prices$56,292Prices here sit at 89.5 against 100
Against the nation22.6% belowNational median $65,120
What special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school earn in West Virginia, May 2025
PercentileAnnualHourly
10th percentile1 in 10 earn less$42,890Not published
25th percentile$47,090Not published
MedianHalf earn more, half less$50,380Not published
75th percentile$59,640Not published
90th percentile1 in 10 earn more$63,460Not published
MeanAll pay divided by all jobs$52,870Not published

Wage survey · BLS May 2025

How we got this
  1. Median wage in West VirginiaBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of the people in this job were paid more than this, half less.$50,380
  2. Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$3,433 a month at an effective rate of 18.2%.$41,200 a year
  3. Worth at national average pricesPrices in West Virginia sit at 89.5 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$56,292
  4. Against the national medianThe national median is $65,120.22.6% below
  5. Jobs countedA concentration of 1.43 against the nation's 1.00.1,690
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.
  • BLS publishes only an annual wage for this occupation, because a standard 2,080-hour year would misdescribe it.
  • 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 · Interactive

Estimated on the median salary of $50,380 in West Virginia, for a single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026. Explore other wage levels and filing statuses below.

$50,380
$40,000$65,000
Filing status:
Gross salary breakdown$50,380
Net 82%
Fed 8%
WV 3%
FICA 8%
Annual take-home$41,200After all taxes
Monthly deposit$3,433Estimated per month
Biweekly paycheck$1,585Every 2 weeks (26/yr)
Effective tax rate18.2%Total tax burden
Federal income tax$3,866 / yr
West Virginia state income tax$1,460 / yr
FICA (Social Security & Medicare)$3,854 / yr

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 $50,380 is worth in West Virginia

Prices in West Virginia sit at 89.5 against a national average of 100, so $50,380 earned here buys what $56,292 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 0.85 times that, on one income.
  • How common the job is here. 43% more concentrated in West Virginia than in the country as a whole.

Compare two places properly →

Reading the numbers

What stands out for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in West Virginia

West Virginia ranks 51 of 51 states by median pay for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school, among the lowest-paying in the country.

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 $50,380 median buys roughly what $56,292 would at national prices, $5,912 more.

Pay is tightly grouped: the 90th percentile ($63,460) is only 1.5 times the 10th ($42,890), so most special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school here earn within a narrow band.

Common questions

Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School pay in West Virginia, answered

How much do special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school make in West Virginia?

The median wage for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in West Virginia is $50,380 a year.

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 Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School salary in West Virginia?

BLS’s mean (average) wage for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in West Virginia is $52,870 a year. The median is $50,380.

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 starting salary for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school 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 special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school earn under $42,890 a year and a quarter earn under $47,090.

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 special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in West Virginia?

The overall salary range for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in West Virginia spans from $42,890 for the bottom 10% to $63,460 for top earners.

The middle 50% earn between $47,090 and $59,640 a year, with the overall median at $50,380.

What is the take-home pay for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in West Virginia?

On the median wage of $50,380, a single filer taking the 2026 standard deduction keeps an estimated $41,200 a year, or roughly $3,433 a month.

That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 18.2%.

West Virginia takes $1,460 of it in state income tax.

How much does special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school make a month in West Virginia?

On the median annual salary of $50,380, estimated take-home pay is roughly $3,433 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 $1,585 net.

Do special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school earn more in West Virginia than in the rest of the country?

No. The median in West Virginia is 22.6% below the national median of $65,120.

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 $50,380 a good salary in West Virginia?

It is 0.85 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 $50,380 here buys about what $56,292 buys at national average prices.

What do the highest-paid special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school earn in West Virginia?

The top tenth earn $63,460 a year or more. The 10th-percentile wage is $42,890.

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 special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school are there in West Virginia?

The survey counted 1,690 of these jobs in West Virginia for May 2025.

That makes the occupation 43% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.

Sources

Where this data comes from

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