Helpers--Electricians in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,182
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$7,608
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,889
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
$42,790
Kept after tax
$35,182
Worth in national money
$38,889
State rank
27
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky sits in the middle of the pack for helpers--electricians. The median is $42,790, ranking 27 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Kentucky, this sits in the middle: 367 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $42,790 you keep $35,182 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $38,889 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $42,490.
- Kentucky occupies the middle band for helpers--electricians: a median of $42,790, ranking 27 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Helpers--electricians ranks 367 of 491 occupations in Kentucky by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $35,182 after the full tax stack, from $42,790. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $38,889 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $42,490 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Helpers--Electricians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,760 |
| This salary | $42,790 |
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 | $35,182 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,562 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,264 |
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 | $41,072 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,529 |
| 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 $42,790. The published range is $35,350 up to $50,760, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $35,182, from $42,790, 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 367 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $38,889, the adjusted value of that $42,790 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 367 of 491 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for helpers--electricians in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $35,350 to $50,760. 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 $35,182 from $42,790. 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 367 of 491 locally.
- This $38,889 adjusted figure, worked from $42,790, 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 367 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 367 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,350 at the bottom tenth to $50,760 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $38,889.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Kentucky adds its own income tax on top — which is why $35,182 of this wage survives to your account.
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 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,350 to $50,760) 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 $38,889 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 $35,182 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.