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Manufacturing Compass

West Virginia manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

West Virginia manufacturing in 2023

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in West Virginia combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

1,471

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
0.4%

Employment

46,090

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
0.4%

Total wages

$3.2 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
0.3%

Average weekly wage

$1,350

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
−15.0%

Average annual pay

$70,175

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
−15.0%

Location quotient

0.80

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in West Virginia is 0.80 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first. 2 are withheld by BLS (“Not disclosed”). For 1, BLS publishes no figures at all (“No BLS data”). Subsectors therefore may not add up to the manufacturing total.

  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    7,830
    Establishments
    144
    Avg. annual pay
    $99,756
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.5%
    Location quotient
    1.95
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    7,009
    Establishments
    55
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,180
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.1%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    4,444
    Establishments
    156
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,071
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.9%
    Location quotient
    2.37
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    4,393
    Establishments
    26
    Avg. annual pay
    $90,864
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.4%
    Location quotient
    2.63
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    4,233
    Establishments
    258
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,108
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.7%
    Location quotient
    0.66
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    4,105
    Establishments
    53
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,995
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.4%
    Location quotient
    1.25
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    3,495
    Establishments
    120
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,338
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.6%
    Location quotient
    0.45
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,378
    Establishments
    117
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,592
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.0%
    Location quotient
    1.27
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    2,115
    Establishments
    107
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,034
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.5%
    Location quotient
    0.42
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,245
    Establishments
    45
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,744
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.6%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    983
    Establishments
    94
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,915
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.4%
    Location quotient
    0.35
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    956
    Establishments
    94
    Avg. annual pay
    $44,940
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.6%
    Location quotient
    0.58
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    766
    Establishments
    52
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,857
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −62.7%
    Location quotient
    0.16
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    639
    Establishments
    56
    Avg. annual pay
    $36,742
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −37.4%
    Location quotient
    0.42
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    505
    Establishments
    26
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,496
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.6%
    Location quotient
    0.27
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    442
    Establishments
    26
    Avg. annual pay
    $93,591
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −32.0%
    Location quotient
    0.92
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    346
    Establishments
    11
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,008
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.4%
    Location quotient
    0.22
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    89
    Establishments
    5
    Avg. annual pay
    $40,431
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −28.9%
    Location quotient
    0.22
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    18
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    No BLS data
    Establishments
    No BLS data
    Avg. annual pay
    No BLS data
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    No BLS data

03By year

West Virginia manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in West Virginia by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
202245,648$68,079−14.3%
202346,090$70,175−15.0%
202446,027$73,776−13.7%
202545,095$76,718−14.3%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology