- The middle half earn between $22.17 and $41.87 an hour.
- West Virginia ranks 15th of the 48 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- West Virginia pays more than 4 of its 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 50 locksmiths on payrolls in West Virginia.
- At the state median wage, a locksmith business needs to bill about $118.44 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Locksmith pay in West Virginia, bottom to top
BLS files these as locksmiths and safe repairers: the people who open and repair locks, make keys, change locks and combinations, and install and repair safes.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $15.37 | $31,970 | $17.08 |
| 25th percentile | $22.17 | $46,100 | $20.75 |
| Median | $27.25 | $56,690 | $24.68 |
| 75th percentile | $41.87 | $87,080 | $31.04 |
| 90th percentile | $47.19 | $98,160 | $38.17 |
| Average (mean) | $30.74 | $63,930 | $26.67 |
Pay spreads out a lot in West Virginia. The bottom tenth earn $15.37 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $47.19 or more, a gap of 3.1 times against 2.2 nationally. Where a locksmith sits on that range matters as much as the state.
The bottom of the scale is lower than nationally ($15.37 against $17.08) while the top is higher ($47.19 against $38.17), so the climb from new hire to top earner is longer here.
The average wage, $30.74, sits 13% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical locksmith makes.
How West Virginia compares with other states
Over a full year, the West Virginia median of $56,690 is $5,370 more than the national $51,320.
In the state ranking, West Virginia sits 15th, between New Jersey ($27.41) and New Hampshire ($27.17). The range runs from $17.20 in Arkansas to $36.89 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, West Virginia is in the middle: Maryland pays more, and Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia pay less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in West Virginia. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against West Virginia |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | $27.25 | $56,690 | |
| Kentucky | $24.58 | $51,120 | −$2.67 an hour |
| Maryland | $29.01 | $60,330 | +$1.76 an hour |
| Ohio | $22.96 | $47,760 | −$4.29 an hour |
| Pennsylvania | $25.08 | $52,160 | −$2.17 an hour |
| Virginia | $25.76 | $53,590 | −$1.49 an hour |
How many locksmiths work in West Virginia
West Virginia has one of the smaller workforces in the trade: 50 locksmiths on payrolls, 0.3% of the 15,040 nationwide.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.1 per 1,000 jobs, 0.77 times the national share.
What a locksmith business in West Virginia should charge
Higher wages in West Virginia go straight into the price. Take a locksmith business in West Virginia paying the state median of $27.25 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $27.25 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $61,016 |
| Break-even rate | ($61,016 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $100.68 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $100.68 ÷ 0.85 | $118.44 |
That is $118.44 per billable hour, 4.3 times the wage, and $4.51 more than the $113.93 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $41.87 in West Virginia, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $144.12.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.17, the rate only drops to $109.52.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a locksmith in West Virginia
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how locksmiths run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 49-9094, locksmiths and safe repairers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: locksmith salary by state.