Pharmacists in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$99,923
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$36,607
26.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$110,452
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
$136,530
Kept after tax
$99,923
Worth in national money
$110,452
State rank
40
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for pharmacists. The middle earner takes $136,530, ranking 40 of 51 states — about 3.11% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 491 occupations Kentucky reports, pharmacists comes in at 8 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $136,530 you keep $99,923 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $110,452 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $136,480.
- Kentucky ranks 40 of 51 for pharmacists, with a median of $136,530 — about 3.11% 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.
- Pharmacists ranks 8 of 491 occupations by median in Kentucky, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $99,923 after the full tax stack, from $136,530. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $110,452 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $136,480 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Pharmacists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $84,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $136,530 |
| Top tenth earn over | $168,940 |
| This salary | $136,530 |
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 | $99,923 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $104,584 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,827 |
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 | $129,711 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,019 |
| 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 pharmacists in Kentucky earn under $136,530 and half over. The published range runs $84,280 at the tenth percentile to $168,940 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $99,923, from $136,530, 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 8 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $110,452, the adjusted value of that $136,530 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 8 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for pharmacists in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $84,280 to $168,940; 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 $99,923 from $136,530. 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 8 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $110,452 — the adjusted value of that $136,530 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 8 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $84,280 at the tenth percentile, $168,940 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 $110,452.
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, $99,923 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($84,280 to $168,940) 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 $110,452 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 $99,923 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.