Funeral Attendants in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,707
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$4,453
15.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,310
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
$29,160
Kept after tax
$24,707
Worth in national money
$27,310
State rank
48
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Kentucky pays funeral attendants a middle wage of $29,160, 48 of 48 states and about 18.27% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Kentucky this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, funeral attendants ranks 476. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $29,160 you keep $24,707, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $27,310 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $29,740, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Kentucky's $29,160 median for funeral attendants places it 48 of 48 states, about 18.27% 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.
- Against every occupation Kentucky reports, funeral attendants ranks 476 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for funeral attendants on $29,160 is $24,707. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $27,310 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 $29,740 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Funeral Attendants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $35,790 |
| This salary | $29,160 |
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 | $24,707 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,610 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$956 |
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 | $28,047 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,156 |
| 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 $29,160. The published range is $22,430 up to $35,790, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $24,707, from $29,160, 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 476 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 $27,310 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 476.
- Reported values are medians; for funeral attendants in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $22,430 to $35,790. 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 $24,707 from $29,160. 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 476 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $27,310, worked from $29,160, 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 476 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $22,430 at the bottom tenth to $35,790 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Kentucky is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $27,310 in national terms.
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, $24,707 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($22,430 to $35,790) 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 $27,310 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 $24,707 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.