Locksmiths and Safe Repairers in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,583
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$9,537
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,965
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
$51,120
Kept after tax
$41,583
Worth in national money
$45,965
State rank
25
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Kentucky is 25 of 48 states for locksmiths and safe repairers, with a middle wage of $51,120. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 266.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $51,120 the take-home is $41,583; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $45,965 would nationally. The average comes to $52,950, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kentucky ranks 25 of 48 for locksmiths and safe repairers at $51,120. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, locksmiths and safe repairers sits at 266 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.
- Post-tax income for locksmiths and safe repairers in Kentucky, on $51,120, is $41,583 — equivalent to $45,965 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 $52,950 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Locksmiths and Safe Repairers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,060 |
| This salary | $51,120 |
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 | $41,583 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,255 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,452 |
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 | $49,040 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,756 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $51,120 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $40,410 and the ninetieth is $65,060 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $41,583, from $51,120, 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 266 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $45,965 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 266.
- The Kentucky median of $51,120 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $40,410 to $65,060. 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 $41,583 from $51,120. 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 266 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,965, worked from $51,120, 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 266 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $52,950, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $40,410 at the bottom tenth to $65,060 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $45,965 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 $41,583.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $52,950. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,410 to $65,060) 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 $45,965 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 $41,583 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.