Diagnostic Medical Sonographers in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$69,935
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$21,295
23.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,303
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
$91,230
Kept after tax
$69,935
Worth in national money
$77,303
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Kentucky pays this job around $91,230 at the midpoint, 31 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Within Kentucky this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 67 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $91,230 you keep $69,935, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $77,303 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $88,940, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For diagnostic medical sonographers the Kentucky median is $91,230, ranking 31 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Kentucky publishes a median for, diagnostic medical sonographers sits 67 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 diagnostic medical sonographers on $91,230 is $69,935. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $77,303 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 $88,940 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $91,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $115,390 |
| This salary | $91,230 |
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 | $69,935 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $73,010 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,171 |
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 | $86,858 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,998 |
| 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 $91,230. The published range is $62,440 up to $115,390, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $69,935, from $91,230, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 67 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $77,303 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 67.
- Reported values are medians; for diagnostic medical sonographers in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $62,440 to $115,390. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Kentucky is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $69,935 from $91,230. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 67 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $77,303, worked from $91,230, 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 67 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $62,440 at the tenth percentile, $115,390 at the ninetieth.
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 $77,303 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $69,935 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($62,440 to $115,390) 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 $77,303 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 $69,935 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.