Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,753
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$4,467
15.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,361
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
$29,220
Kept after tax
$24,753
Worth in national money
$27,361
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Kentucky pays laundry and dry-cleaning workers a middle wage of $29,220, 44 of 51 states and about 16.25% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Kentucky this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, laundry and dry-cleaning workers ranks 475. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $29,220 you keep $24,753 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $27,361 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $29,840, since top earners drag the number up.
- Kentucky's $29,220 median for laundry and dry-cleaning workers places it 44 of 51 states, about 16.25% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Kentucky reports, laundry and dry-cleaning workers ranks 475 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $24,753 after the full tax stack, from $29,220. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $27,361 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $29,840 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,610 |
| This salary | $29,220 |
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 | $24,753 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,658 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$957 |
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 | $28,103 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,157 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $29,220 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $23,140 and the ninetieth is $36,610 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $24,753, worked from $29,220. 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 475 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $27,361 uses one figure for the whole of Kentucky. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 475.
- The Kentucky median of $29,220 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $23,140 to $36,610. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Kentucky take-home of $24,753, on $29,220 for work ranking 475 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 475 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $27,361, worked from $29,220, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Kentucky address, on work sitting at 475 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $23,140 at the tenth percentile, $36,610 at the ninetieth.
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 $27,361 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 $24,753.
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 ($23,140 to $36,610) 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 $27,361 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 $24,753 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.