Orderlies in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,395
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$5,865
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,492
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
$35,260
Kept after tax
$29,395
Worth in national money
$32,492
State rank
40
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Kentucky pays orderlies a middle wage of $35,260, 40 of 47 states and about 7.91% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Kentucky this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, orderlies ranks 441. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $35,260 you keep $29,395 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $32,492 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $35,550, since top earners drag the number up.
- Kentucky's $35,260 median for orderlies places it 40 of 47 states, about 7.91% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Kentucky reports, orderlies ranks 441 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $29,395 after the full tax stack, from $35,260. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,492 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $35,550 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Orderlies
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $40,500 |
| This salary | $35,260 |
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 | $29,395 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,511 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,094 |
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 | $33,870 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,323 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,260 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,150 and the ninetieth is $40,500 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $29,395, from $35,260, 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 441 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 $32,492 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 441.
- The Kentucky median of $35,260 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,150 to $40,500. 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 $29,395 from $35,260. 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 441 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,492, worked from $35,260, 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 441 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,150 at the tenth percentile, $40,500 at the ninetieth.
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 $32,492.
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 $29,395.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,150 to $40,500) 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 $32,492 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 $29,395 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.