Computer Programmers in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,355
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$22,495
23.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$79,978
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
$94,850
Kept after tax
$72,355
Worth in national money
$79,978
State rank
23
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Kentucky is 23 of 46 states for computer programmers, with a middle wage of $94,850. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Kentucky this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, computer programmers ranks 62 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $94,850 you keep $72,355, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $79,978 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $101,200, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Kentucky ranks 23 of 46 for computer programmers at $94,850. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Kentucky publishes a median for, computer programmers sits 62 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for computer programmers on $94,850 is $72,355. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $79,978 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 $101,200 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Computer Programmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $94,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $140,460 |
| This salary | $94,850 |
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 | $72,355 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $75,557 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,225 |
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 | $90,298 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,073 |
| 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 $94,850. The published range is $61,990 up to $140,460, 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 $72,355, worked from $94,850. 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 62 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $79,978, the adjusted value of that $94,850 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 62 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for computer programmers in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $61,990 to $140,460. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $72,355, on $94,850 for work ranking 62 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 62 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $79,978 — the adjusted value of that $94,850 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 62 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 $101,200 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $61,990 and the top tenth $140,460 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $79,978.
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 $72,355.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 $101,200. 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 ($61,990) and the ninetieth ($140,460) 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 $79,978 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 $72,355 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.