Miscellaneous Construction and Related Workers in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,518
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$5,902
16.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,628
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
$35,420
Kept after tax
$29,518
Worth in national money
$32,628
State rank
45
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Kentucky. The middle earner gets $35,420. That is 45 of 45 states, and about 29.03% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 491 occupations Kentucky publishes, this job lands at 440. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $35,420 you keep $29,518, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,628 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,630, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For miscellaneous construction and related workers, Kentucky sits in the lower band at $35,420, ranking 45 of 45 and trailing the national median by about 29.03%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Kentucky, this work ranks 440 of 491 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for miscellaneous construction and related workers on $35,420 is $29,518. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,628 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 $39,630 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Miscellaneous Construction and Related Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,420 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,400 |
| This salary | $35,420 |
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 | $29,518 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,640 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,097 |
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 | $34,023 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,327 |
| 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 miscellaneous construction and related workers in Kentucky earn under $35,420 and half over. The published range runs $31,980 at the tenth percentile to $62,400 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $29,518, worked from $35,420. 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 440 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,628 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 440.
- Figures are distribution medians for miscellaneous construction and related workers in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,980 to $62,400; 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.
- The Kentucky take-home of $29,518, on $35,420 for work ranking 440 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 440 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,628, worked from $35,420, 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 440 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 $39,630, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $31,980 at the bottom tenth to $62,400 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $32,628.
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 $29,518 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $39,630. 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 ($31,980) and the ninetieth ($62,400) 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 $32,628 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 $29,518 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.