Chemical Technicians in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,045
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$11,785
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,213
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
$60,830
Kept after tax
$49,045
Worth in national money
$54,213
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Kentucky pays chemical technicians around $60,830 at the midpoint, 20 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 194.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $60,830 you keep $49,045, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,213 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $63,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For chemical technicians the Kentucky median is $60,830, ranking 20 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, chemical technicians sits at 194 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 chemical technicians on $60,830 is $49,045. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,213 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 $63,000 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chemical Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,830 |
| Top tenth earn over | $97,810 |
| This salary | $60,830 |
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 | $49,045 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,057 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,672 |
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 | $58,327 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,022 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $60,830 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $40,940 and the ninetieth is $97,810 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $49,045, worked from $60,830. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 194 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,213 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 194.
- The Kentucky median of $60,830 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $40,940 to $97,810. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Kentucky take-home of $49,045, on $60,830 for work ranking 194 of 491 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 194 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,213, worked from $60,830, 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 194 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 $63,000, 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 $40,940 at the bottom tenth to $97,810 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $54,213 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Kentucky's own levy, $49,045 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $63,000. 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 ($40,940) and the ninetieth ($97,810) 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 $54,213 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 $49,045 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.