Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,092
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$9,088
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,317
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
$49,180
Kept after tax
$40,092
Worth in national money
$44,317
State rank
33
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Kentucky. The middle earner gets $49,180. That is 33 of 48 states, and about 2.98% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 285.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,180 you keep $40,092, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,317 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $51,230, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For computer numerically controlled tool operators, Kentucky sits in the lower band at $49,180, ranking 33 of 48 and trailing the national median by about 2.98%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, computer numerically controlled tool operators sits at 285 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 computer numerically controlled tool operators on $49,180 is $40,092. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,317 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 $51,230 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,260 |
| This salary | $49,180 |
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 | $40,092 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,696 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,408 |
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 | $47,184 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,703 |
| 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 $49,180. The published range is $37,900 up to $64,260, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $40,092, worked from $49,180. 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 285 of 491.
- Two cautions on $44,317, the adjusted value of that $49,180 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Kentucky. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 285 of 491 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for computer numerically controlled tool operators in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,900 to $64,260. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $40,092, on $49,180 for work ranking 285 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 285 of 491 in the state.
- This $44,317 adjusted figure, worked from $49,180, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 285 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 285 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $51,230 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,900 and the top tenth $64,260, so most people doing this work in Kentucky sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $44,317 in national terms.
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, $40,092 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $51,230. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,900 to $64,260) 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 $44,317 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 $40,092 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.