Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,212
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$7,618
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,923
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
$42,830
Kept after tax
$35,212
Worth in national money
$38,923
State rank
40
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Kentucky. The middle earner gets $42,830. That is 40 of 51 states, and about 5.37% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 366 among 491 occupations Kentucky publishes pay for.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $42,830 you keep $35,212, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $38,923 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $43,920, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks, Kentucky sits in the lower band at $42,830, ranking 40 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 5.37%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 366 of 491 in Kentucky places shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks 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.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks on $42,830 is $35,212. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $38,923 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 $43,920 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,830 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,840 |
| This salary | $42,830 |
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 | $35,212 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,594 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,265 |
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 | $41,111 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,530 |
| 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 shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in Kentucky earn under $42,830 and half over. The published range runs $31,980 at the tenth percentile to $58,840 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $35,212 take-home in Kentucky comes from $42,830. 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 366 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $38,923 uses one figure for the whole of Kentucky. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 366.
- Figures are distribution medians for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,980 to $58,840; 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 $35,212, from $42,830, 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 366 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 40 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,923, worked from $42,830, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Kentucky address, on work sitting at 366 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,980 and the top tenth $58,840, 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 $38,923 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $35,212.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,980 to $58,840) 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 $38,923 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 $35,212 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.