Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,702
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$11,078
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,622
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
$57,780
Kept after tax
$46,702
Worth in national money
$51,622
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $57,780, ranking 35 of 51 states — about 3.46% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in Kentucky, this sits in the middle: 237 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 $57,780 the take-home is $46,702; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $51,622 would nationally. The average comes to $59,320, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kentucky ranks 35 of 51 for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators, with a median of $57,780 — about 3.46% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators ranks 237 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 operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Kentucky, on $57,780, is $46,702 — equivalent to $51,622 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 $59,320 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,890 |
| This salary | $57,780 |
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 | $46,702 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,606 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,603 |
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 | $55,410 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,939 |
| 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 operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Kentucky earn under $57,780 and half over. The published range runs $44,620 at the tenth percentile to $80,890 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 $46,702, worked from $57,780. 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 237 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,622 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 237.
- Figures are distribution medians for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $44,620 to $80,890; 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 $46,702, on $57,780 for work ranking 237 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 237 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,622, worked from $57,780, 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 237 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $44,620 at the bottom tenth to $80,890 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $51,622 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 $46,702.
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 ($44,620 to $80,890) 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 $51,622 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 $46,702 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.