Salaries in West Virginia.
1 metro area. 3445 roles.
Average cost-of-living index: 0.78x national average. Last updated April 2026.
1 city tracked3445 roles
Highest Paying
$276,000
Technical Fellow
Median Role
$244,000
Staff Quantitative Researcher
Entry Level
$235,000
Principal Kernel Engineer
Salary data sourced from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), state pay-transparency job postings, and community submissions. Ranges reflect 25th to 75th percentile for full-time positions. Cost-of-living adjustments use Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2025 index). Last updated June 2026.
West Virginia has 1 major metro area tracked in our salary database, with an average cost-of-living index of 0.78x the national average. The highest-paying role across the state is Technical Fellow at $276,000 in Charleston. The median role pays $244,000.
Metro areas in West Virginia
Top 30 salaries in West Virginia
| # | Role | Median | Top City | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Technical Fellow | $276,000 | Charleston | $215,000 to $358,000 |
| 2 | Senior VP of Security | $270,000 | Charleston | $211,000 to $351,000 |
| 3 | Senior VP of Product | $270,000 | Charleston | $211,000 to $351,000 |
| 4 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $268,000 | Charleston | $209,000 to $348,000 |
| 5 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $262,000 | Charleston | $204,000 to $341,000 |
| 6 | Distinguished Engineer | $260,000 | Charleston | $197,000 to $331,000 |
| 7 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $256,000 | Charleston | $200,000 to $333,000 |
| 8 | SVP of Technology | $256,000 | Charleston | $200,000 to $333,000 |
| 9 | Chief AI Officer | $251,000 | Charleston | $187,000 to $324,000 |
| 10 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $250,000 | Charleston | $195,000 to $325,000 |
| 11 | Chief Security Officer | $250,000 | Charleston | $194,000 to $325,000 |
| 12 | Chief Strategy Officer | $249,000 | Charleston | $194,000 to $324,000 |
| 13 | Chief Science Officer | $249,000 | Charleston | $194,000 to $324,000 |
| 14 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $248,000 | Charleston | $194,000 to $323,000 |
| 15 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $245,000 | Charleston | $191,000 to $319,000 |
| 16 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $244,000 | Charleston | $191,000 to $317,000 |
| 17 | SVP of Engineering | $242,000 | Charleston | $189,000 to $314,000 |
| 18 | Senior Head of Security | $242,000 | Charleston | $189,000 to $314,000 |
| 19 | SVP of Product | $242,000 | Charleston | $189,000 to $314,000 |
| 20 | Principal Applied Scientist | $241,000 | Charleston | $188,000 to $314,000 |
| 21 | CTO | $241,000 | Charleston | $188,000 to $313,000 |
| 22 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $241,000 | Charleston | $188,000 to $313,000 |
| 23 | Principal Cryptographer | $241,000 | Charleston | $188,000 to $314,000 |
| 24 | Chief Legal Officer | $241,000 | Charleston | $188,000 to $313,000 |
| 25 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $239,000 | Charleston | $187,000 to $311,000 |
| 26 | Principal LLM Engineer | $239,000 | Charleston | $186,000 to $311,000 |
| 27 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $239,000 | Charleston | $186,000 to $310,000 |
| 28 | Senior VP of Design | $239,000 | Charleston | $187,000 to $311,000 |
| 29 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $239,000 | Charleston | $186,000 to $310,000 |
| 30 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $235,000 | Charleston | $183,000 to $305,000 |
Tax considerations in West Virginia
West Virginia's top income tax rate is 5.12%. Charleston has no city income tax. The very low cost of living means even moderate salaries deliver strong purchasing power.
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