Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Project weekly and annual earnings from West Virginia's minimum wage rate ($8.75/hr) and hours worked.
West Virginia's general state minimum wage is pre-filled at $8.75/hr (as of September 17, 2026, per the Tax Foundation and U.S. Department of Labor). Some cities/counties, and some job categories (tipped workers, minors), have different rates -- edit the rate below if a different one applies to you, and always verify current figures at your state labor department or dol.gov.$8.75/hr applies to employers with 6+ employees; smaller employers follow the $7.25/hr federal minimum.
West Virginia's general state minimum wage is $8.75/hr (as of September 17, 2026, per the Tax Foundation and U.S. Department of Labor). $8.75/hr applies to employers with 6+ employees; smaller employers follow the $7.25/hr federal minimum. This tool projects weekly and annual earnings from an hourly rate and hours worked, pre-filled with West Virginia's current minimum wage -- editable for your own actual rate.
Enter an hourly rate (pre-filled with West Virginia's minimum wage), hours worked per week, and weeks worked per year. Your projected weekly and annual pay appear instantly.
West Virginia's headline rate of $8.75 is $1.50 above the $7.25 federal minimum, or about 21% higher. Where a state rate is higher than the federal one, covered employers generally have to pay the higher figure.
Ranked against all 51 jurisdictions in this data set, West Virginia comes in at number 31 from the top. The jurisdictions with headline rates closest to West Virginia's are Alabama ($7.25), Georgia ($7.25), Idaho ($7.25).
For context, West Virginia also charges a 6% state sales tax -- see the West Virginia sales tax calculator for how that adds up at the register.
These figures multiply West Virginia's $8.75 rate across common schedules, over 52 weeks, before any taxes or deductions:
Every extra dollar per hour is worth $40.00 a week and $2,080.00 over a full-time year at 40 hours. Put differently, a full-time worker paid exactly $8.75 earns about $18,200.00 a year before tax, which is roughly 46% of a $40,000 salary.
Under the federal rule for covered, non-exempt employees, hours beyond 40 in a week are generally paid at one and a half times the regular rate. At West Virginia's headline minimum, ten overtime hours would be worth $131.25 for those hours alone ($13.13 per hour). This calculator multiplies rate by hours and weeks as entered and does not apply overtime automatically, so add overtime pay separately. Some states add their own daily-overtime or premium-pay rules, so check West Virginia's labor department for the rules that apply to your job.
Working backwards is often more useful than forwards. To earn $2,000.00 a month before tax at West Virginia's $8.75 rate you would need about 52.7 hours a week, and to reach $3,000.00 a month about 79.1 hours a week. A $30,000.00 annual target works out to about 3429 paid hours in the year at that rate (roughly 65.9 hours per week), and $50,000.00 to about 5714 paid hours. Numbers like these show how sharply the hourly figure limits earning power, which is why people often compare the local minimum wage against a rough local cost of living before deciding whether a job's pay is workable. They also show why many workers seek hours above the minimum or a raise once they have some experience.
Use $8.75 as a starting projection for West Virginia, not a guarantee: tipped work, age (minors), student status, and agricultural or seasonal jobs all carry their own rules, and so can employer size or a city/county ordinance setting a higher local wage. Edit the hourly rate field for your own situation, and confirm the figure that actually applies with the West Virginia labor department or the U.S. Department of Labor.
Not necessarily -- tipped workers, minors, and some other job categories can have different minimum wage rules in many states, and some cities/counties set their own local minimum wage above the state figure. Edit the rate field if a different one applies to your specific situation.
Your state's Department of Labor (or equivalent) and the U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov) publish current official minimum wage rates -- always verify there, since rates change over time, often annually.
At $8.75 an hour for 40 hours a week over 52 weeks, gross pay is about $18,200 a year, or roughly $1,517 a month before taxes and deductions.
Yes. The rate used here, $8.75, is $1.50 above the $7.25 federal minimum wage, and covered employers generally have to pay the higher of the two.
If you work a minimum-wage job in West Virginia, state law sets your pay floor at $8.75/hour -- $1.50 an hour (20.7%) above the $7.25 federal minimum. Out of 51 states and DC, West Virginia is 31st highest of 51 jurisdictions, ahead of the 20 still at the bare federal minimum. The highest general rate in this data is $18.40 in District of Columbia, $9.65 an hour more than West Virginia.
$8.75/hr applies to employers with 6+ employees; smaller employers follow the $7.25/hr federal minimum.
For context, West Virginia also charges a 6% state sales tax -- see the West Virginia sales tax calculator for how that adds up at the register.
| Hours worked in a week | Gross pay for the week |
|---|---|
| 10 | $87.50 |
| 20 | $175.00 |
| 25 | $218.75 |
| 30 | $262.50 |
| 35 | $306.25 |
| 40 | $350.00 |
At a full 40-hour week that's $350.00, or $1,516.67 a month and $18,200.00 a year (2,080 hours). Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, hours worked past 40 in a week are paid at 1.5×, so overtime for a West Virginia minimum-wage worker runs $13.13 an hour.
These are gross figures. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare (7.65% for the employee) and any state or local taxes come out of them, so take-home pay is lower; the paycheck calculator shows the difference.
Of West Virginia's 5 bordering states, 3 set a higher minimum wage and 2 set a lower one.
| Neighbouring state | General minimum wage |
|---|---|
| Maryland | $15.00 per hour |
| Virginia | $12.77 per hour |
| Ohio | $11.00 per hour |
| Kentucky | $7.25 per hour |
| Pennsylvania | $7.25 per hour |
How many hours do you need to work in West Virginia to earn $1000 at minimum wage?
At $8.75/hour, earning $1,000 before taxes takes 114.3 hours. For $100 it's 11.4 hours, and for $2,000 it's 228.6 hours.
Is West Virginia's minimum wage above or below $15 an hour?
West Virginia's $8.75/hour rate is $6.25 below the $15.00/hour figure often cited in minimum-wage debates.
What is the difference between West Virginia's minimum wage and the federal minimum wage?
West Virginia sets its own floor $1.50/hour above the federal $7.25 rate, so the state figure is the one that applies to most workers there.
What does overtime pay look like at West Virginia's minimum wage?
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees earn 1.5× their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a week. At West Virginia's $8.75/hour floor, that's $13.13/hour for overtime hours.
Figures are as of September 17, 2026, per the Tax Foundation and U.S. Department of Labor. Cities, counties, tipped and youth wages and employer size can change the rate that applies to you; check the U.S. Department of Labor state minimum wage page or your state labor department.
Reference: Internal Revenue Service