Median pay · Kentucky
$46,920A year, or $23 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile1 in 10 earn less | $27,970 | $13 |
| 25th percentile | $35,410 | $17 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $46,920 | $23 |
| 75th percentile | $66,760 | $32 |
| 90th percentile1 in 10 earn more | $98,380 | $47 |
| MeanAll pay divided by all jobs | $58,990 | $28 |
All occupations combined. Individual occupations vary far more than this figure suggests. The tables below show the spread.
How we got this
- Median wage in KentuckyBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of all wage earners here were paid more than this, half less.$46,920
- Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$22.56
- Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$3,196 a month at an effective rate of 18.3%.$38,356 a year
- Worth at national average pricesPrices in Kentucky sit at 90.2 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$52,041
- Against the national medianThe national median is $50,980.8% below
- Jobs countedWage and salary jobs; the self-employed are not surveyed.2,000,360
What we assumed
- Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
- OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
- Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
- Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
Questions
Pay in Kentucky: common questions
What is the average salary in Kentucky?
$58,990 a year, or $28.36 an hour, across every job the Bureau of Labor Statistics surveyed in Kentucky for May 2025.
The median is lower, $46,920: half of workers earn more and half earn less. The average sits above it because a smaller number of very high salaries pull it up, so the median is closer to what a typical worker makes.
What is a good salary in Kentucky?
Anything over $46,920 pays more than half the jobs in Kentucky. $66,760 puts you in the top quarter and $98,380 in the top 10%.
A single person on the median keeps about $3,196 a month after federal, state and FICA tax.
What are the highest-paying jobs in Kentucky?
By median pay: airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers ($350,950), anesthesiologists ($347,960), neurologists ($338,850), obstetricians and gynecologists ($317,110) and family medicine physicians ($248,730). The table on this page lists the top 25.
What are the most common jobs in Kentucky?
By number of jobs: laborers or material movers ($42,770), general or operations managers ($79,370), retail salespersons ($29,650), registered nurses ($81,040) and stockers or order fillers ($36,810), with the median pay for each.