Dental Assistants in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,978
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$8,752
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,085
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
$47,730
Kept after tax
$38,978
Worth in national money
$43,085
State rank
27
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Kentucky is 27 of 50 states for dental assistants, with a middle wage of $47,730. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Kentucky, this sits in the middle: 310 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $47,730 you keep $38,978 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $43,085 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $48,440, since top earners drag the number up.
- Kentucky ranks 27 of 50 for dental assistants at $47,730. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Dental assistants ranks 310 of 491 occupations in Kentucky by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $38,978 after the full tax stack, from $47,730. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,085 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $48,440 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dental Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,050 |
| This salary | $47,730 |
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 | $38,978 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,531 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,376 |
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 | $45,797 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,664 |
| 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 dental assistants in Kentucky earn under $47,730 and half over. The published range runs $35,600 at the tenth percentile to $62,050 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 $38,978, worked from $47,730. 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 310 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,085 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 310.
- Figures are distribution medians for dental assistants in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,600 to $62,050; 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 $38,978, on $47,730 for work ranking 310 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 310 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,085, worked from $47,730, 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 310 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,600 and the top tenth $62,050, so most people doing this work in Kentucky sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $43,085 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, $38,978 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,600 to $62,050) 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 $43,085 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 $38,978 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.