Butchers and Meat Cutters in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,526
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$5,904
16.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,636
Kentucky costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kentucky — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$35,430
Kept after tax
$29,526
Worth in national money
$32,636
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for butchers and meat cutters is on the low side in Kentucky. The middle earner gets $35,430. That is 47 of 51 states, and about 11.73% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 491 occupations Kentucky publishes, butchers and meat cutters lands at 438. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $35,430 you keep $29,526 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $32,636 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $35,390.
- For butchers and meat cutters, Kentucky sits in the lower band at $35,430, ranking 47 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 11.73%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Kentucky, this work ranks 438 of 491 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $29,526 after the full tax stack, from $35,430. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,636 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $35,390 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Butchers and Meat Cutters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,690 |
| This salary | $35,430 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Kentucky | $29,526 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,648 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,097 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $34,033 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,327 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,430 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $22,890 and the ninetieth is $47,690 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $29,526, from $35,430, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 438 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,636 uses one figure for the whole of Kentucky. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 438.
- The Kentucky median of $35,430 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $22,890 to $47,690. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Kentucky is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,526 from $35,430. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 438 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,636, worked from $35,430, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Kentucky address, on work sitting at 438 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $22,890 at the tenth percentile, $47,690 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Kentucky sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $32,636 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Kentucky then takes its own share, leaving $29,526.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($22,890 to $47,690) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kentucky rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kentucky's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $32,636 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $29,526 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kentucky income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.