Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,166
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$7,604
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,872
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
$42,770
Kept after tax
$35,166
Worth in national money
$38,872
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $42,770, ranking 18 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 368.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $42,770 you keep $35,166, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $38,872 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $41,960, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kentucky occupies the middle band for laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand: a median of $42,770, ranking 18 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand sits at 368 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand on $42,770 is $35,166. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $38,872 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 $41,960 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,750 |
| This salary | $42,770 |
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 | $35,166 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,546 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,263 |
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 | $41,053 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,528 |
| 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 $42,770. The published range is $30,890 up to $49,750, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $35,166, from $42,770, 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 368 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $38,872, the adjusted value of that $42,770 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 368 of 491 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,890 to $49,750. 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 $35,166 from $42,770. 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 368 of 491 locally.
- This $38,872 adjusted figure, worked from $42,770, 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 368 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 368 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $30,890 and the top tenth $49,750, so most people doing this work in Kentucky sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $38,872 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 $35,166.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,890 to $49,750) 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 $38,872 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 $35,166 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.