Average Salary in Kentucky
Wages, household income and cost-of-living context for Kentucky. All figures from federal releases, vintage 2024.
- Mean annual wage$56,310Rank #44 of 51
- Median annual wage$45,740Rank #43 of 51
- Median household income$64,526ACS 2024 1-year
- Regional price parity90.2US = 100
- Adjusted mean wage$62,428Rank #41 at national prices
- Total employment1,993,680Wage & salary workers
What the numbers say
The mean of $56,310 is $10,570 (23.1 %) above the median of $45,740, reflecting a right-skewed wage distribution pulled up by high earners.
Prices in Kentucky are about 9.8 % below the national average (RPP 90.2, where US = 100). After the adjustment, every dollar earned in Kentucky buys what $62,428 would buy at national average prices.
Median household income in Kentucky is $64,526 (Census ACS 2024). That figure counts all income to all people in a household — two-earner couples, Social Security, self-employment earnings — and is not directly comparable to the per-worker wage figures above.
Pay for common occupations in Kentucky
Annual mean wage, cross-industry. Blank rows indicate BLS suppression for this state/occupation cell.
| Occupation | SOC | Mean wage |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing Manager | 11-2021 | $134,320 |
| Pharmacist | 29-1051 | $130,990 |
| Lawyer | 23-1011 | $116,020 |
| Software Developer | 15-1252 | $114,200 |
| Mechanical Engineer | 17-2141 | $103,340 |
| Data Scientist | 15-2051 | $100,410 |
| Civil Engineer | 17-2051 | $99,830 |
| Project Management Specialist | 13-1082 | $88,510 |
Browse all 20 occupation pages →