Graphic Designers in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,997
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$9,963
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,528
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
$52,960
Kept after tax
$42,997
Worth in national money
$47,528
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for graphic designers. The middle earner takes $52,960, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 15.88% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Graphic designers ranks 255 among 491 occupations Kentucky publishes pay for.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $52,960 you keep $42,997, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $47,528 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $56,050, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Kentucky ranks 42 of 51 for graphic designers, with a median of $52,960 — about 15.88% 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.
- Position 255 of 491 in Kentucky places graphic designers 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 graphic designers on $52,960 is $42,997. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $47,528 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 $56,050 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Graphic Designers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,690 |
| This salary | $52,960 |
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 | $42,997 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,733 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,494 |
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 | $50,799 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,807 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $52,960 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $32,620 and the ninetieth is $81,690 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $42,997, worked from $52,960. 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 255 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $47,528 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 255.
- The Kentucky median of $52,960 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $32,620 to $81,690. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Kentucky take-home of $42,997, on $52,960 for work ranking 255 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 255 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $47,528, worked from $52,960, 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 255 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 $56,050, 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $32,620 and the top tenth $81,690 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $47,528 in national terms.
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 $42,997.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $56,050. 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 ($32,620) and the ninetieth ($81,690) 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 $47,528 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 $42,997 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.