Food Processing Workers, All Other in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,078
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$6,372
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,352
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
$37,450
Kept after tax
$31,078
Worth in national money
$34,352
State rank
38
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for food processing workers, all other. The middle earner takes $37,450, ranking 38 of 46 states — about 5.62% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Kentucky, this one sits low: 412 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $37,450 you keep $31,078, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,352 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,570, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Kentucky ranks 38 of 46 for food processing workers, all other, with a median of $37,450 — about 5.62% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Food processing workers, all other occupies position 412 of 491 in Kentucky's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for food processing workers, all other on $37,450 is $31,078. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,352 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 $39,570 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,450 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,610 |
| This salary | $37,450 |
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 | $31,078 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,271 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,143 |
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 | $35,965 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,383 |
| 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 food processing workers, all other in Kentucky earn under $37,450 and half over. The published range runs $37,130 at the tenth percentile to $44,610 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 $31,078, worked from $37,450. 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 412 of 491.
- Two cautions on $34,352, the adjusted value of that $37,450 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Kentucky. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 412 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for food processing workers, all other in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,130 to $44,610; 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 $31,078, on $37,450 for work ranking 412 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 412 of 491 in the state.
- This $34,352 adjusted figure, worked from $37,450, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 412 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 412 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $39,570, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,130 at the tenth percentile, $44,610 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 $34,352 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 $31,078.
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 46 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 $39,570. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,130 to $44,610) 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 $34,352 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 $31,078 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.