Millwrights in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$56,150
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$14,460
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$62,067
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
$70,610
Kept after tax
$56,150
Worth in national money
$62,067
State rank
17
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Kentucky pays millwrights around $70,610 at the midpoint, 17 of 48 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 127.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $70,610 you keep $56,150 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $62,067 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $68,730.
- For millwrights the Kentucky median is $70,610, ranking 17 of 48 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, millwrights sits at 127 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.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $56,150 after the full tax stack, from $70,610. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $62,067 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $68,730 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Millwrights
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $70,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $86,640 |
| This salary | $70,610 |
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 | $56,150 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $58,504 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,862 |
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 | $67,264 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,571 |
| 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 $70,610. The published range is $48,210 up to $86,640, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $56,150, worked from $70,610. 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 127 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $62,067 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 127.
- Reported values are medians; for millwrights in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,210 to $86,640. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $56,150, on $70,610 for work ranking 127 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 127 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $62,067, worked from $70,610, 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 127 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $48,210 at the bottom tenth to $86,640 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $62,067.
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 $56,150.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,210 to $86,640) 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 $62,067 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 $56,150 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.