Roofers in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,371
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$8,569
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,414
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
$46,940
Kept after tax
$38,371
Worth in national money
$42,414
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for roofers. The middle earner takes $46,940, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 15.33% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in Kentucky, this sits in the middle: 321 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $46,940 the take-home is $38,371; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $42,414 would nationally. The average comes to $50,680, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kentucky ranks 42 of 51 for roofers, with a median of $46,940 — about 15.33% 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.
- Roofers ranks 321 of 491 occupations in Kentucky by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for roofers in Kentucky, on $46,940, is $38,371 — equivalent to $42,414 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 $50,680 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Roofers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,940 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,470 |
| This salary | $46,940 |
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 | $38,371 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,896 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,358 |
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 | $45,042 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,642 |
| 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 $46,940. The published range is $38,220 up to $65,470, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $38,371, from $46,940, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 321 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $42,414, the adjusted value of that $46,940 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 321 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for roofers in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,220 to $65,470. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Kentucky is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,371 from $46,940. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 321 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $42,414 — the adjusted value of that $46,940 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 321 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 $50,680 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,220 at the tenth percentile, $65,470 at the ninetieth.
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 $42,414 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 $38,371.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $50,680. 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 ($38,220 to $65,470) 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 $42,414 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 $38,371 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.