Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,096
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$7,884
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,899
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
$43,980
Kept after tax
$36,096
Worth in national money
$39,899
State rank
41
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Kentucky. The middle earner gets $43,980. That is 41 of 49 states, and about 11.83% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 357 among 491 occupations Kentucky publishes pay for.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $43,980 the take-home is $36,096; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $39,899 would nationally. The average comes to $46,630, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners, Kentucky sits in the lower band at $43,980, ranking 41 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 11.83%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 357 of 491 in Kentucky places septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Kentucky, on $43,980, is $36,096 — equivalent to $39,899 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 $46,630 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,600 |
| This salary | $43,980 |
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 | $36,096 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,518 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,291 |
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 | $42,211 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,561 |
| 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 septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Kentucky earn under $43,980 and half over. The published range runs $35,980 at the tenth percentile to $65,600 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $36,096 take-home in Kentucky comes from $43,980. 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 357 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $39,899, the adjusted value of that $43,980 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 357 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,980 to $65,600; 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 $36,096, from $43,980, 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 357 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 41 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $39,899 — the adjusted value of that $43,980 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 357 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 $46,630, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,980 and the top tenth $65,600, so most people doing this work in Kentucky sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $39,899 in national terms.
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 $36,096 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $46,630. 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 ($35,980 to $65,600) 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 $39,899 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 $36,096 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.