Occupational Therapists in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,227
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$23,423
24.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$82,047
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
$97,650
Kept after tax
$74,227
Worth in national money
$82,047
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Kentucky pays occupational therapists around $97,650 at the midpoint, 31 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Kentucky. It ranks 55 out of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $97,650 you keep $74,227, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $82,047 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $95,450, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For occupational therapists the Kentucky median is $97,650, ranking 31 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within Kentucky, occupational therapists ranks 55 of 491 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for occupational therapists on $97,650 is $74,227. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $82,047 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 $95,450 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $71,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,650 |
| Top tenth earn over | $119,250 |
| This salary | $97,650 |
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 | $74,227 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,527 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,267 |
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 | $92,959 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,131 |
| 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 occupational therapists in Kentucky earn under $97,650 and half over. The published range runs $71,030 at the tenth percentile to $119,250 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 $74,227, worked from $97,650. 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 55 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $82,047, the adjusted value of that $97,650 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 55 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for occupational therapists in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $71,030 to $119,250; 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 $74,227, on $97,650 for work ranking 55 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 55 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $82,047 — the adjusted value of that $97,650 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 55 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $71,030 and the top tenth $119,250, 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 $82,047 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $74,227.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($71,030 to $119,250) 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 $82,047 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 $74,227 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.