Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,330
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$4,640
15.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,998
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
$29,970
Kept after tax
$25,330
Worth in national money
$27,998
State rank
40
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks. The middle earner takes $29,970, ranking 40 of 51 states — about 14.54% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Kentucky, this one sits low: 468 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $29,970 you keep $25,330, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $27,998 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $30,470, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Kentucky ranks 40 of 51 for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks, with a median of $29,970 — about 14.54% 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.
- Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks occupies position 468 of 491 in Kentucky's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks on $29,970 is $25,330. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $27,998 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 $30,470 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,380 |
| This salary | $29,970 |
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 | $25,330 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,261 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$974 |
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 | $28,811 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,178 |
| 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 $29,970. The published range is $22,720 up to $37,380, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $25,330, worked from $29,970. 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 468 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $27,998, the adjusted value of that $29,970 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 468 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $22,720 to $37,380. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $25,330, on $29,970 for work ranking 468 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 468 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $27,998 — the adjusted value of that $29,970 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 468 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $22,720 and the top tenth $37,380, 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 $27,998 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $25,330 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($22,720 to $37,380) 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 $27,998 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 $25,330 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.