Motorcycle Mechanics in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,355
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$8,865
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,501
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
$48,220
Kept after tax
$39,355
Worth in national money
$43,501
State rank
23
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Kentucky is 23 of 45 states for motorcycle mechanics, with a middle wage of $48,220. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Kentucky, this sits in the middle: 300 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,220 the take-home is $39,355; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $43,501 would nationally. The average comes to $48,320, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kentucky ranks 23 of 45 for motorcycle mechanics at $48,220. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Motorcycle mechanics ranks 300 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.
- Post-tax income for motorcycle mechanics in Kentucky, on $48,220, is $39,355 — equivalent to $43,501 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $48,320 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Motorcycle Mechanics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,780 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,730 |
| This salary | $48,220 |
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 | $39,355 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,925 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,387 |
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 | $46,266 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,677 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,220 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,780 and the ninetieth is $62,730 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $39,355, from $48,220, 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 300 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $43,501, the adjusted value of that $48,220 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 300 of 491 in the state.
- The Kentucky median of $48,220 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,780 to $62,730. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Kentucky is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,355 from $48,220. 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 300 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $43,501 — the adjusted value of that $48,220 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 300 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $30,780 and the top tenth $62,730, so most people doing this work in Kentucky sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $43,501.
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 $39,355.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,780 to $62,730) 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 $43,501 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 $39,355 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.