Insurance Underwriters in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,314
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$17,516
21.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,880
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
$79,830
Kept after tax
$62,314
Worth in national money
$68,880
State rank
23
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky sits in the middle of the pack for insurance underwriters. The median is $79,830, ranking 23 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 491 occupations Kentucky reports, insurance underwriters comes in at 89 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $79,830 the take-home is $62,314; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $68,880 would nationally. The average comes to $87,430, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kentucky occupies the middle band for insurance underwriters: a median of $79,830, ranking 23 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Insurance underwriters ranks 89 of 491 occupations by median in Kentucky, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Post-tax income for insurance underwriters in Kentucky, on $79,830, is $62,314 — equivalent to $68,880 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $87,430 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Insurance Underwriters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,550 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,830 |
| Top tenth earn over | $138,670 |
| This salary | $79,830 |
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 | $62,314 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,990 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,000 |
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 | $76,026 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,762 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of insurance underwriters in Kentucky earn under $79,830 and half over. The published range runs $46,550 at the tenth percentile to $138,670 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $62,314, worked from $79,830. 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 89 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $68,880, the adjusted value of that $79,830 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 89 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for insurance underwriters in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $46,550 to $138,670; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Kentucky take-home of $62,314, on $79,830 for work ranking 89 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 89 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $68,880 — the adjusted value of that $79,830 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 89 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $87,430, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $46,550 at the bottom tenth to $138,670 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $68,880 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $62,314.
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.
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 $87,430. 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 ($46,550) and the ninetieth ($138,670) 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 $68,880 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 $62,314 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.