Public Safety Telecommunicators in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,395
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$8,275
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,335
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
$45,670
Kept after tax
$37,395
Worth in national money
$41,335
State rank
42
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 $45,670, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 13.9% 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 341.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,670 you keep $37,395, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $41,335 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $45,400, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kentucky ranks 42 of 51 for public safety telecommunicators, with a median of $45,670 — about 13.9% 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 safety telecommunicators sits at 341 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 public safety telecommunicators on $45,670 is $37,395. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $41,335 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 $45,400 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Public Safety Telecommunicators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,060 |
| This salary | $45,670 |
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 | $37,395 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,876 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,329 |
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 | $43,827 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,607 |
| 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 $45,670. The published range is $29,770 up to $59,060, 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 $37,395, worked from $45,670. 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 341 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $41,335, the adjusted value of that $45,670 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 341 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for public safety telecommunicators in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $29,770 to $59,060. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $37,395, on $45,670 for work ranking 341 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 341 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $41,335 — the adjusted value of that $45,670 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 341 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $29,770 and the top tenth $59,060, so most people doing this work in Kentucky sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $41,335 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Kentucky adds its own income tax on top — which is why $37,395 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,770 to $59,060) 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 $41,335 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 $37,395 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.