Helpers--Production Workers in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,675
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$7,456
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,328
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
$42,130
Kept after tax
$34,675
Worth in national money
$38,328
State rank
21
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Kentucky pays helpers--production workers around $42,130 at the midpoint, 21 of 49 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 491 occupations Kentucky publishes, helpers--production workers lands at 375. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $42,130 you keep $34,675, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $38,328 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $43,160, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For helpers--production workers the Kentucky median is $42,130, ranking 21 of 49 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.
- Within Kentucky, this work ranks 375 of 491 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for helpers--production workers on $42,130 is $34,675. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $38,328 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 $43,160 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Helpers--Production Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,420 |
| This salary | $42,130 |
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 | $34,675 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,031 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,249 |
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 | $40,441 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,511 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $42,130 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,730 and the ninetieth is $54,420 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $34,675, from $42,130, 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 375 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $38,328, the adjusted value of that $42,130 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 375 of 491 in the state.
- The Kentucky median of $42,130 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,730 to $54,420. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Kentucky is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $34,675 from $42,130. 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 375 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $38,328 — the adjusted value of that $42,130 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 375 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,730 and the top tenth $54,420, so most people doing this work in Kentucky sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $38,328 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $34,675 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 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 ($35,730 to $54,420) 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 $38,328 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 $34,675 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.