Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,757
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$10,493
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,473
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
$55,250
Kept after tax
$44,757
Worth in national money
$49,473
State rank
14
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Kentucky pays this job a middle wage of $55,250, ranking 14 of 47 states and sitting about 7.64% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 247 among 491 occupations Kentucky publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $55,250 you keep $44,757 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $49,473 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $54,020.
- Kentucky's median for structural metal fabricators and fitters is $55,250, about 7.64% above the national figure and 14 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Position 247 of 491 in Kentucky places structural metal fabricators and fitters 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.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $44,757 after the full tax stack, from $55,250. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $49,473 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $54,020 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,020 |
| This salary | $55,250 |
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 | $44,757 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,573 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,546 |
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 | $52,990 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,869 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $55,250 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,360 and the ninetieth is $63,020 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $44,757, worked from $55,250. 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 247 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,473 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 247.
- The Kentucky median of $55,250 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,360 to $63,020. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Kentucky take-home of $44,757, on $55,250 for work ranking 247 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 247 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,473, worked from $55,250, 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 247 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $44,360 at the tenth percentile, $63,020 at the ninetieth.
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 $49,473 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 $44,757.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($44,360 to $63,020) 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 $49,473 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 $44,757 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.