Museum Technicians and Conservators in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,676
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$9,264
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,962
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
$49,940
Kept after tax
$40,676
Worth in national money
$44,962
State rank
19
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $49,940, ranking 19 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 276.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,940 you keep $40,676, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,962 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $47,690, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kentucky occupies the middle band for museum technicians and conservators: a median of $49,940, ranking 19 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, museum technicians and conservators sits at 276 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 museum technicians and conservators on $49,940 is $40,676. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,962 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 $47,690 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Museum Technicians and Conservators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,940 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,770 |
| This salary | $49,940 |
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 | $40,676 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,307 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,426 |
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 | $47,911 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,724 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $49,940 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $28,320 and the ninetieth is $74,770 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $40,676, from $49,940, 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 276 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $44,962 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 276.
- The Kentucky median of $49,940 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $28,320 to $74,770. 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 $40,676 from $49,940. 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 276 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,962, worked from $49,940, 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 276 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $47,690 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $28,320, the highest tenth $74,770, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $44,962 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 $40,676 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $47,690. 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 ($28,320) and the ninetieth ($74,770) 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 $44,962 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 $40,676 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.