Public Relations Specialists in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,523
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$11,627
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,635
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
$60,150
Kept after tax
$48,523
Worth in national money
$53,635
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for public relations specialists. The middle earner takes $60,150, ranking 48 of 51 states — about 19.53% 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 207.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $60,150 the take-home is $48,523; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $53,635 would nationally. The average comes to $67,550, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kentucky ranks 48 of 51 for public relations specialists, with a median of $60,150 — about 19.53% 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, public relations specialists sits at 207 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 public relations specialists in Kentucky, on $60,150, is $48,523 — equivalent to $53,635 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 $67,550 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Public Relations Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $103,530 |
| This salary | $60,150 |
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 | $48,523 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,511 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,656 |
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 | $57,676 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,003 |
| 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 $60,150. The published range is $37,190 up to $103,530, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $48,523 take-home in Kentucky comes from $60,150. 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 207 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $53,635, the adjusted value of that $60,150 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 207 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for public relations specialists in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,190 to $103,530. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $48,523, from $60,150, 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 207 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $53,635 — the adjusted value of that $60,150 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 207 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 $67,550, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $37,190 at the bottom tenth to $103,530 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $53,635.
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 $48,523.
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 $67,550. 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 ($37,190) and the ninetieth ($103,530) 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 $53,635 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 $48,523 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.