Office Machine Operators, Except Computer in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,992
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$6,648
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,363
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
$38,640
Kept after tax
$31,992
Worth in national money
$35,363
State rank
26
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $38,640, ranking 26 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Kentucky, this one sits low: 400 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $38,640 you keep $31,992 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $35,363 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $40,650, since top earners drag the number up.
- Kentucky occupies the middle band for office machine operators, except computer: a median of $38,640, ranking 26 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Office machine operators, except computer occupies position 400 of 491 in Kentucky's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $31,992 after the full tax stack, from $38,640. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,363 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $40,650 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Office Machine Operators, Except Computer
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,930 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,640 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,060 |
| This salary | $38,640 |
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 | $31,992 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,227 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,170 |
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 | $37,103 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,415 |
| 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 office machine operators, except computer in Kentucky earn under $38,640 and half over. The published range runs $30,930 at the tenth percentile to $48,060 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $31,992, from $38,640, 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 400 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 $35,363 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 400.
- Figures are distribution medians for office machine operators, except computer in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,930 to $48,060; 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.
- Take-home for Kentucky is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,992 from $38,640. 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 400 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,363, worked from $38,640, 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 400 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $40,650, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,930 at the tenth percentile, $48,060 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Kentucky is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $35,363 in national terms.
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, $31,992 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 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 $40,650. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,930 to $48,060) 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 $35,363 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 $31,992 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.