Database Architects in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$92,706
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$32,695
26.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$102,473
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
$125,400
Kept after tax
$92,706
Worth in national money
$102,473
State rank
33
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for database architects. The middle earner takes $125,400, ranking 33 of 46 states — about 10.11% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Kentucky. It ranks 16 out of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $125,400 you keep $92,706, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $102,473 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $124,130, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kentucky ranks 33 of 46 for database architects, with a median of $125,400 — about 10.11% 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.
- Within Kentucky, database architects ranks 16 of 491 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for database architects on $125,400 is $92,706. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $102,473 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 $124,130 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Database Architects
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $74,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $125,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $173,110 |
| This salary | $125,400 |
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 | $92,706 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $96,977 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,677 |
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 | $119,226 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,806 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of database architects in Kentucky earn under $125,400 and half over. The published range runs $74,140 at the tenth percentile to $173,110 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $92,706, worked from $125,400. 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 16 of 491.
- Two cautions on $102,473, the adjusted value of that $125,400 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 16 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for database architects in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $74,140 to $173,110; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Kentucky take-home of $92,706, on $125,400 for work ranking 16 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 16 of 491 in the state.
- This $102,473 adjusted figure, worked from $125,400, 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 16 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 16 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $74,140 and the top tenth $173,110 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $102,473 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Kentucky adds its own income tax on top — which is why $92,706 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($74,140) and the ninetieth ($173,110) 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 $102,473 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 $92,706 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.