Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,294
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$8,546
18.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,329
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
$46,840
Kept after tax
$38,294
Worth in national money
$42,329
State rank
45
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Kentucky. The middle earner gets $46,840. That is 45 of 49 states, and about 14.98% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 324.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $46,840 the take-home is $38,294; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $42,329 would nationally. The average comes to $53,230, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For environmental science and protection technicians, including health, Kentucky sits in the lower band at $46,840, ranking 45 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 14.98%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, environmental science and protection technicians, including health sits at 324 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for environmental science and protection technicians, including health in Kentucky, on $46,840, is $38,294 — equivalent to $42,329 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $53,230 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,100 |
| This salary | $46,840 |
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 | $38,294 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,816 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,355 |
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 | $44,946 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,639 |
| 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 $46,840. The published range is $36,910 up to $83,100, 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 $38,294, worked from $46,840. 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 324 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,329 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 324.
- Reported values are medians; for environmental science and protection technicians, including health in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,910 to $83,100. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $38,294, on $46,840 for work ranking 324 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 324 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,329, worked from $46,840, 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 324 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $53,230, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $36,910 at the bottom tenth to $83,100 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $42,329.
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 $38,294.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $53,230. 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 ($36,910) and the ninetieth ($83,100) 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 $42,329 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 $38,294 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.