Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$56,438
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$14,602
20.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$62,384
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
$71,040
Kept after tax
$56,438
Worth in national money
$62,384
State rank
40
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Kentucky pays this job a middle wage of $71,040, 40 of 51 states and about 13.6% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 125 among 491 occupations Kentucky publishes pay for.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $71,040 you keep $56,438, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $62,384 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $71,160, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Kentucky's $71,040 median for environmental scientists and specialists, including health places it 40 of 51 states, about 13.6% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 125 of 491 in Kentucky places environmental scientists and specialists, including health in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for environmental scientists and specialists, including health on $71,040 is $56,438. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $62,384 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 $71,160 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $71,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $94,840 |
| This salary | $71,040 |
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 | $56,438 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $58,807 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,868 |
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 | $67,673 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,580 |
| 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 $71,040. The published range is $48,540 up to $94,840, 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 $56,438, worked from $71,040. 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 125 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $62,384, the adjusted value of that $71,040 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 125 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for environmental scientists and specialists, including health in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,540 to $94,840. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $56,438, on $71,040 for work ranking 125 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 125 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $62,384 — the adjusted value of that $71,040 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 125 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $48,540 at the bottom tenth to $94,840 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $62,384 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $56,438.
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 ($48,540 to $94,840) 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 $62,384 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 $56,438 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.