Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,108
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$11,502
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,177
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
$59,610
Kept after tax
$48,108
Worth in national money
$53,177
State rank
35
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $59,610, ranking 35 of 46 states — about 10.05% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 217.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $59,610 you keep $48,108, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $53,177 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $59,380, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kentucky ranks 35 of 46 for probation officers and correctional treatment specialists, with a median of $59,610 — about 10.05% 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.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, probation officers and correctional treatment specialists sits at 217 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.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for probation officers and correctional treatment specialists on $59,610 is $48,108. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $53,177 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $59,380 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $54,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,000 |
| This salary | $59,610 |
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 | $48,108 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,077 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,644 |
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 | $57,160 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,989 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kentucky earn less than $59,610. The published range is $54,070 up to $69,000, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $48,108, worked from $59,610. 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 217 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $53,177 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 217.
- Reported values are medians; for probation officers and correctional treatment specialists in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $54,070 to $69,000. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $48,108, on $59,610 for work ranking 217 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 217 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $53,177, worked from $59,610, 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 217 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $54,070 at the tenth percentile, $69,000 at the ninetieth.
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 $53,177 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, $48,108 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($54,070 to $69,000) 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 $53,177 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 $48,108 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.