Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,597
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$7,733
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,347
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
$43,330
Kept after tax
$35,597
Worth in national money
$39,347
State rank
21
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Kentucky pays this job around $43,330 at the midpoint, 21 of 48 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 360 among 491 occupations Kentucky publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $43,330 you keep $35,597 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $39,347 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $42,470.
- For helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters the Kentucky median is $43,330, ranking 21 of 48 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 360 of 491 in Kentucky places helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters 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.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $35,597 after the full tax stack, from $43,330. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $39,347 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $42,470 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,540 |
| This salary | $43,330 |
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 | $35,597 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,996 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,276 |
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 | $41,589 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,543 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $43,330 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $33,420 and the ninetieth is $48,540 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $35,597 take-home in Kentucky comes from $43,330. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 360 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $39,347, the adjusted value of that $43,330 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 360 of 491 in the state.
- The Kentucky median of $43,330 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $33,420 to $48,540. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $35,597, from $43,330, assumes a single Kentucky filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 360 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 21 of 48 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $39,347 — the adjusted value of that $43,330 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 360 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $33,420 at the bottom tenth to $48,540 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 $39,347 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 $35,597.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,420 to $48,540) 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 $39,347 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 $35,597 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.