Buyers and Purchasing Agents in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,435
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$12,805
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,959
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
$65,240
Kept after tax
$52,435
Worth in national money
$57,959
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for buyers and purchasing agents. The middle earner takes $65,240, ranking 50 of 51 states — about 16.05% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 150.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $65,240 you keep $52,435, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $57,959 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $70,810, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Kentucky ranks 50 of 51 for buyers and purchasing agents, with a median of $65,240 — about 16.05% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, buyers and purchasing agents sits at 150 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for buyers and purchasing agents on $65,240 is $52,435. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $57,959 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $70,810 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Buyers and Purchasing Agents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $105,370 |
| This salary | $65,240 |
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 | $52,435 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,600 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,772 |
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 | $62,545 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,268 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kentucky earn less than $65,240. The published range is $42,600 up to $105,370, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $52,435, from $65,240, 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 150 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $57,959, the adjusted value of that $65,240 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 150 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for buyers and purchasing agents in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $42,600 to $105,370. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Kentucky is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $52,435 from $65,240. 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 150 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $57,959 — the adjusted value of that $65,240 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 150 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $70,810, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $42,600 at the bottom tenth to $105,370 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Kentucky is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $57,959 in national terms.
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 $52,435.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Kentucky is $70,810. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($42,600) and the ninetieth ($105,370) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $57,959 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 $52,435 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.