Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,184
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$4,596
15.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,837
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
$29,780
Kept after tax
$25,184
Worth in national money
$27,837
State rank
50
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 $29,780, ranking 50 of 51 states — about 21.92% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Kentucky, this one sits low: 470 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $29,780 the take-home is $25,184; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $27,837 would nationally. The average comes to $35,400, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kentucky ranks 50 of 51 for preschool teachers, except special education, with a median of $29,780 — about 21.92% 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.
- Preschool teachers, except special education occupies position 470 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.
- Post-tax income for preschool teachers, except special education in Kentucky, on $29,780, is $25,184 — equivalent to $27,837 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 $35,400 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,760 |
| This salary | $29,780 |
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 | $25,184 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,108 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$970 |
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 | $28,629 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,173 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $29,780 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $23,490 and the ninetieth is $51,760 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $25,184 take-home in Kentucky comes from $29,780. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 470 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $27,837, the adjusted value of that $29,780 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 470 of 491 in the state.
- The Kentucky median of $29,780 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $23,490 to $51,760. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $25,184, from $29,780, assumes a single Kentucky filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 470 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 50 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $27,837 — the adjusted value of that $29,780 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 470 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 $35,400, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $23,490, the highest tenth $51,760, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $27,837 in national terms.
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 $25,184.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $35,400. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($23,490) and the ninetieth ($51,760) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $27,837 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 $25,184 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.