Private Detectives and Investigators in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,917
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$8,733
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,017
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
$47,650
Kept after tax
$38,917
Worth in national money
$43,017
State rank
31
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Kentucky is 31 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $47,650. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 311.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $47,650 the take-home is $38,917; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $43,017 would nationally. The average comes to $51,130, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kentucky ranks 31 of 49 for private detectives and investigators at $47,650. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, private detectives and investigators sits at 311 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for private detectives and investigators in Kentucky, on $47,650, is $38,917 — equivalent to $43,017 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 $51,130 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Private Detectives and Investigators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,340 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,650 |
| Top tenth earn over | $70,150 |
| This salary | $47,650 |
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 | $38,917 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,467 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,374 |
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 | $45,721 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,661 |
| 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 private detectives and investigators in Kentucky earn under $47,650 and half over. The published range runs $37,340 at the tenth percentile to $70,150 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 $38,917, worked from $47,650. 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 311 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $43,017, the adjusted value of that $47,650 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 311 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for private detectives and investigators in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,340 to $70,150; 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 $38,917, on $47,650 for work ranking 311 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 311 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $43,017 — the adjusted value of that $47,650 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 311 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $51,130 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,340 at the bottom tenth to $70,150 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 $43,017 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $38,917 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $51,130. 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 ($37,340 to $70,150) 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 $43,017 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 $38,917 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.