Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,260
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$7,330
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,869
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
$41,590
Kept after tax
$34,260
Worth in national money
$37,869
State rank
42
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Kentucky pays this job a middle wage of $41,590, 42 of 48 states and about 9.92% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Kentucky this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 377. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $41,590 you keep $34,260 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $37,869 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $41,360.
- Kentucky's $41,590 median for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic places it 42 of 48 states, about 9.92% 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.
- Against every occupation Kentucky reports, molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic ranks 377 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $34,260 after the full tax stack, from $41,590. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $37,869 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $41,360 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,330 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,320 |
| This salary | $41,590 |
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 | $34,260 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,598 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,237 |
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 | $39,925 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,496 |
| 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 $41,590. The published range is $31,330 up to $48,320, 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 $34,260, worked from $41,590. 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 377 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $37,869, the adjusted value of that $41,590 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 377 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,330 to $48,320. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $34,260, on $41,590 for work ranking 377 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 377 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $37,869 — the adjusted value of that $41,590 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 377 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,330 and the top tenth $48,320, so most people doing this work in Kentucky sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $37,869 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 $34,260 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,330 to $48,320) 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 $37,869 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 $34,260 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.