Audit: West Virginia Corrections Salaries Worst in Nation

  A legislative audit says West Virginia has the lowest starting salaries for state correctional officers in the country.

On Monday, Kristina Taylor of the Legislative Post Audit Division relayed the low correctional pay marks to state lawmakers. The presentation followed a January report about correctional officer pay.

The starting salary for West Virginia’s entry-level correctional officers was less than $22,600.

It ranked lower than any other state, including those deemed to be in similar economic standing: Mississippi, Kentucky, South Carolina, New Mexico and Alabama.

The audit said Massachusetts had the highest entry-level starting pay for officers at almost $51,400 annually.