Moving from Texas to West Virginia: Cost & Tax Comparison
Compare state income tax savings, HUD rent differentials, and household purchasing power adjustments when relocating from Texas to West Virginia.
Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology
What changes when you move from Texas to West Virginia
Texas has no state income tax on wages and West Virginia has graduated income tax rates up to 4.82%. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays $0 in state income tax in Texas and $3,885 in state income tax in West Virginia. With federal income tax and FICA unchanged, total tax rises by $3,885 a year after the move. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent averages $1,035 a month across Texas's metro areas and $836 across West Virginia's (-19.2%). Pay differs too: the BLS median wage across all occupations, weighted by employment in each state's metros, is $49,204 in Texas and $44,856 in West Virginia. City and county income taxes, which some localities add, are not included in these state-level figures; the metro routes below include them.
West Virginia Paycheck & Living Costs
Metropolitan Corridors Between Texas & West Virginia
Moving from Texas to West Virginia on a $100,000 salary: pay $3,885 more in total taxes per year; average one-bedroom rent is $836 vs $1,035 a month (HUD FMR).
Quick answers
For a single filer earning $100,000 with no local income tax, total federal, FICA and state taxes are $3,885 higher in West Virginia than in Texas (3.9 percentage points of gross pay). The average HUD one-bedroom Fair Market Rent across West Virginia's metros is $836 a month, versus $1,035 in Texas (-19.2%). Taxes and one-bedroom rent combined change by -$1,502 a year.
Texas: No State Income Tax, top rate 0%. West Virginia: Graduated Brackets, top rate 4.82%. Federal income tax and FICA are the same in both states.