Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,898
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$18,302
22.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,631
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
$82,200
Kept after tax
$63,898
Worth in national money
$70,631
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Kentucky. The middle earner gets $82,200. That is 42 of 51 states, and about 13.91% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Kentucky. It ranks 79 out of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $82,200 the take-home is $63,898; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $70,631 would nationally. The average comes to $84,520, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For magnetic resonance imaging technologists, Kentucky sits in the lower band at $82,200, ranking 42 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 13.91%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Kentucky, magnetic resonance imaging technologists ranks 79 of 491 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for magnetic resonance imaging technologists in Kentucky, on $82,200, is $63,898 — equivalent to $70,631 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 $84,520 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $66,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $82,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $101,760 |
| This salary | $82,200 |
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 | $63,898 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $66,658 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,035 |
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 | $78,278 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,811 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $82,200 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $66,170 and the ninetieth is $101,760 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $63,898, from $82,200, 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 79 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 $70,631 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 79.
- The Kentucky median of $82,200 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $66,170 to $101,760. 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 $63,898 from $82,200. 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 79 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $70,631, worked from $82,200, 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 79 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $66,170 at the tenth percentile, $101,760 at the ninetieth.
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 $70,631 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Kentucky adds its own income tax on top — which is why $63,898 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($66,170 to $101,760) 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 $70,631 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 $63,898 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.