Charleston sits at the very top of the range for this role in West Virginia — among the highest-paying cities in the state for this occupation. That's well below the national average for rotary drill operators, oil and gas — one of the largest gaps in this dataset. Cost of living here runs below the national average, which can offset a lower headline salary. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.
Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Charleston ranks #171 for cost of living and #184 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.
| City | Mean salary | vs. Charleston |
|---|---|---|
| Abilene, Texas | $60,060 | +8.5% |
| Bakersfield, California | $83,290 | +50.5% |
| Dallas, Texas | $81,660 | +47.5% |
| Houston, Texas | $88,240 | +59.4% |
| Midland, Texas | $80,720 | +45.8% |
| Odessa, Texas | $68,690 | +24.1% |
| San Antonio, Texas | $68,500 | +23.8% |
| Tyler, Texas | $74,770 | +35.1% |
| Wichita Falls, Texas | $60,910 | +10.0% |
Single filer, federal + West Virginia state tax + FICA, 2026 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.
Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.
The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.
Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.
