Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,515
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$17,616
22.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,101
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
$80,130
Kept after tax
$62,515
Worth in national money
$69,101
State rank
19
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $80,130, ranking 19 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Kentucky this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 88 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $80,130 you keep $62,515, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $69,101 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $83,110, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Kentucky occupies the middle band for entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling: a median of $80,130, ranking 19 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation Kentucky publishes a median for, entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling sits 88 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 entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling on $80,130 is $62,515. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $69,101 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 $83,110 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $137,890 |
| This salary | $80,130 |
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 | $62,515 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,201 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,004 |
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 | $76,311 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,769 |
| 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 $80,130. The published range is $40,300 up to $137,890, 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 $62,515, worked from $80,130. 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 88 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $69,101 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 88.
- Reported values are medians; for entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $40,300 to $137,890. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $62,515, on $80,130 for work ranking 88 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 88 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $69,101, worked from $80,130, 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 88 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 $83,110 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 $40,300 and the top tenth $137,890 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $69,101 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, $62,515 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 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 $83,110. 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 ($40,300) and the ninetieth ($137,890) 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 $69,101 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 $62,515 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.