Medical Records Specialists in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,501
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$8,909
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,663
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
$48,410
Kept after tax
$39,501
Worth in national money
$43,663
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Kentucky pays medical records specialists a middle wage of $48,410, 39 of 51 states and about 5.34% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Against other work in Kentucky, this sits in the middle: 292 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $48,410 you keep $39,501, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $43,663 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $53,520, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Kentucky's $48,410 median for medical records specialists places it 39 of 51 states, about 5.34% 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.
- Medical records specialists ranks 292 of 491 occupations in Kentucky by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for medical records specialists on $48,410 is $39,501. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $43,663 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 $53,520 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Records Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,520 |
| This salary | $48,410 |
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 | $39,501 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,077 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,391 |
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 | $46,448 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,682 |
| 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 medical records specialists in Kentucky earn under $48,410 and half over. The published range runs $36,290 at the tenth percentile to $74,520 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $39,501, from $48,410, 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 292 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $43,663, the adjusted value of that $48,410 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 292 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical records specialists in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,290 to $74,520; 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.
- Take-home for Kentucky is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,501 from $48,410. 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 292 of 491 locally.
- This $43,663 adjusted figure, worked from $48,410, 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 292 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 292 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 $53,520, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $36,290, the highest tenth $74,520, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $43,663 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 $39,501.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $53,520. 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 ($36,290) and the ninetieth ($74,520) 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 $43,663 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 $39,501 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.