Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,589
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$7,731
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,339
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
$43,320
Kept after tax
$35,589
Worth in national money
$39,339
State rank
44
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 $43,320, 44 of 48 states and about 21.25% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 361.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $43,320 you keep $35,589, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $39,339 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $43,130, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kentucky's $43,320 median for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers places it 44 of 48 states, about 21.25% 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.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers sits at 361 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.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers on $43,320 is $35,589. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $39,339 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 $43,130 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,230 |
| This salary | $43,320 |
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 | $35,589 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,988 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,276 |
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 | $41,579 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,543 |
| 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 morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers in Kentucky earn under $43,320 and half over. The published range runs $27,520 at the tenth percentile to $61,230 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 $35,589, worked from $43,320. 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 361 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $39,339, the adjusted value of that $43,320 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 361 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $27,520 to $61,230; 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 $35,589, on $43,320 for work ranking 361 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 361 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $39,339 — the adjusted value of that $43,320 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 361 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $27,520 at the bottom tenth to $61,230 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 $39,339.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Kentucky's own levy, $35,589 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($27,520) and the ninetieth ($61,230) 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 $39,339 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 $35,589 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.