Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,697
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$12,583
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,144
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
$64,280
Kept after tax
$51,697
Worth in national money
$57,144
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Kentucky pays this job around $64,280 at the midpoint, 31 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 160.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $64,280 the take-home is $51,697; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $57,144 would nationally. The average comes to $77,540, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products the Kentucky median is $64,280, ranking 31 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products sits at 160 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 sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products in Kentucky, on $64,280, is $51,697 — equivalent to $57,144 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 $77,540 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $133,090 |
| This salary | $64,280 |
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 | $51,697 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,829 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,750 |
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 | $61,626 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,116 |
| 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 sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products in Kentucky earn under $64,280 and half over. The published range runs $36,030 at the tenth percentile to $133,090 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $51,697 take-home in Kentucky comes from $64,280. 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 160 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $57,144, the adjusted value of that $64,280 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 160 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,030 to $133,090; 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.
- Retained pay of $51,697, from $64,280, 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 160 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 31 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $57,144 — the adjusted value of that $64,280 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 160 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 $77,540, 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 $36,030 at the bottom tenth to $133,090 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 $57,144.
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, $51,697 remains.
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 $77,540. 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 ($36,030) and the ninetieth ($133,090) 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 $57,144 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 $51,697 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.