What Lawyers earn in Jefferson County, WV
The median pay for Lawyers in Jefferson County, WV is $195,190 per year, which works out to $93.84 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, the labor market that Jefferson County, WV belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $226,780, which is 16.2% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 46,840 people working in this occupation across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Jefferson County, WV has roughly 59,260 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Lawyers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $106,520 a year ($51.21 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $382,890 or more ($184.08 an hour). That is a gap of $276,370 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $161,470 at the 25th percentile and $309,140 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 3.6 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Converted to an hourly wage, the median for Lawyers in Jefferson County, WV is $93.84. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $195,190, and the same salary is $16,266 a month before taxes or about $7,507 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $65.89 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Lawyers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Lawyers this way: "Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions. May specialize in a single area or may practice broadly in many areas of law."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, or legal rights and obligations"; "Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses"; "Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents"; "Evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases".
Job outlook for Lawyers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 863,700 jobs in 2025 to 904,300 in 2035, a change of +4.7%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 28,700 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 3.3% of current employment each year. About 11.3% of the people in this occupation are self-employed, and wage figures cover wage and salary workers only.
Typical entry-level education: doctoral or professional degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $159,670 for this occupation; the Jefferson County, WV median of $195,190 is 22.2% above it.
How pay in Jefferson County, WV compares
Compared with the West Virginia average
Jefferson County, WV pays above the state benchmark. The West Virginia employment-weighted average for Lawyers is $190,109; the local median of $195,190 beats it by $5,081, or 2.7%.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Lawyers is $160,953 across the contiguous United States. At $195,190, Jefferson County, WV pays $34,237 more, which is 21.3% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Jefferson County, WV
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Jefferson County, WV, Lawyers ranks number 10 by median pay, ahead of about 99% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $195,190 a year, which is $0 less than the median for Lawyers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $195,190 does not arrive in full. We model a single filer with wage income only, the standard deduction and tax-year 2025 rules, and we keep the three tax layers apart: federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and state income tax. Together they take $58,134 a year, which leaves $137,056, or $11,421 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $30 goes to taxes and $70 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 29.8%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $179,440. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 24% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $35,913, an effective 18.4% of gross pay, well below the 24% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $10,918 on this salary, the maximum for the year because pay exceeds the cap. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $2,830. FICA totals $13,748, which is 7.0% of gross pay.
State income tax in West Virginia
West Virginia income tax on this salary is $8,473 a year, or 4.3% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 24% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $706 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Jefferson County, WV
IRS Statistics of Income data for Jefferson County, WV show an average adjusted gross income of $89,395 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 12.2% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 11.4%, compared with the 18.4% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Jefferson County, WV
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Jefferson County, WV: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $137,056 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Jefferson County, WV is $1,052 a month, or $12,624 a year. A two-bedroom costs $1,376 a month. For Lawyers, a one-bedroom absorbs 9.2% of take-home pay and 6.5% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 1.8% of gross pay for Lawyers in Jefferson County, WV. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using West Virginia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,593 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $577, for $2,169 in total. Gasoline in West Virginia averages $3.33 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,543.
What is left over
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $19,772 a year, 14% of take-home pay. That leaves $117,283 a year, or $9,774 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 60.1% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Jefferson County, WV
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Jefferson County, WV: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Jefferson County, WV, set beside the West Virginia and national medians.
Property taxes in Jefferson County, WV
Homeowners in Jefferson County, WV pay a median of $1,857 a year in real estate taxes, 115% above the West Virginia median of $865 and 40% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $350,800, the median tax bill is 0.53% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Lawyers median of $195,190, a tax bill of that size would equal 1.0% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Jefferson County, WV
Renters in Jefferson County, WV pay a median gross rent of $1,108 a month in the Census survey, 27% above the West Virginia median of $872. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,052 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $350,800, 116% above the West Virginia median of $162,600. Median household income is $98,806, 66% above the West Virginia median of $59,608, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 12.8% of that income.
Commuting in Jefferson County, WV
Workers in Jefferson County, WV who travel to a workplace spend an average of 37.1 minutes each way, 39% above the West Virginia average of 26.6. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 6.2 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 17.3% of workers in Jefferson County, WV work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Lawyers afford to live in Jefferson County, WV?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $195,190 that ceiling is $4,880 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,052 is $3,828 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $20.23 an hour; the median for Lawyers is $93.84, which is 364% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $65.89 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 3.7 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,376 a month means $688 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $4,368 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $121,651.
How fast you can save
At $9,774 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 2 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 4 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Lawyers pay in Jefferson County, WV
What is the hourly wage for Lawyers in Jefferson County, WV?
The median is $93.84 per hour, based on $195,190 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $51.21 at the 10th percentile to $184.08 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Lawyers in Jefferson County, WV?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $195,190 becomes $137,056 a year. That is $11,421 a month, $5,271 every two weeks or $2,636 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Lawyers in Jefferson County, WV?
Total taxes are $58,134 a year, an effective rate of 29.8%: $35,913 federal income tax, $13,748 FICA and $8,473 West Virginia income tax.
Is pay for Lawyers in Jefferson County, WV above the West Virginia average?
Yes. The local median of $195,190 is +2.7% versus the West Virginia average of $190,109, a difference of $5,081 a year.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Lawyers salary in Jefferson County, WV?
A one-bedroom costs $1,052 a month against take-home pay of $11,421, which is 9.2% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $4,880 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Lawyers in Jefferson County, WV?
About $9,774 a month ($117,283 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $19,772 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Jefferson County, WV at the 30% guideline?
$20.23 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $12,624 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Lawyers is $93.84.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the West Virginia rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.