Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,186
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$6,404
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,471
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
$37,590
Kept after tax
$31,186
Worth in national money
$34,471
State rank
26
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $37,590, ranking 26 of 46 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Kentucky, this one sits low: 411 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $37,590 the take-home is $31,186; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $34,471 would nationally. The average comes to $38,010, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kentucky occupies the middle band for switchboard operators, including answering service: a median of $37,590, ranking 26 of 46. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Switchboard operators, including answering service occupies position 411 of 491 in Kentucky's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for switchboard operators, including answering service in Kentucky, on $37,590, is $31,186 — equivalent to $34,471 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 $38,010 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,550 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,390 |
| This salary | $37,590 |
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 | $31,186 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,384 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,146 |
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 | $36,099 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,386 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,590 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,550 and the ninetieth is $44,390 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $31,186 take-home in Kentucky comes from $37,590. 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 411 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,471, the adjusted value of that $37,590 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 411 of 491 in the state.
- The Kentucky median of $37,590 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,550 to $44,390. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $31,186, from $37,590, 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 411 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 26 of 46 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $34,471 — the adjusted value of that $37,590 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 411 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $30,550 at the bottom tenth to $44,390 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $34,471.
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, $31,186 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 ($30,550 to $44,390) 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 $34,471 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 $31,186 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.