Teachers and Instructors, All Other in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,024
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$11,176
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,979
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
$58,200
Kept after tax
$47,024
Worth in national money
$51,979
State rank
33
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Kentucky is 33 of 50 states for teachers and instructors, all other, with a middle wage of $58,200. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Teachers and instructors, all other ranks 233 among 491 occupations Kentucky publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $58,200 you keep $47,024 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $51,979 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $59,060, since top earners drag the number up.
- Kentucky ranks 33 of 50 for teachers and instructors, all other at $58,200. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 233 of 491 in Kentucky places teachers and instructors, all other 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 $47,024 after the full tax stack, from $58,200. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $51,979 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $59,060 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Teachers and Instructors, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,770 |
| This salary | $58,200 |
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 | $47,024 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,944 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,612 |
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 | $55,811 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,950 |
| 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 teachers and instructors, all other in Kentucky earn under $58,200 and half over. The published range runs $34,910 at the tenth percentile to $83,770 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $47,024, worked from $58,200. 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 233 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $51,979, the adjusted value of that $58,200 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 233 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for teachers and instructors, all other in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,910 to $83,770; 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.
- The Kentucky take-home of $47,024, on $58,200 for work ranking 233 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 233 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $51,979 — the adjusted value of that $58,200 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 233 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $34,910 and the top tenth $83,770 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $51,979 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 $47,024 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($34,910) and the ninetieth ($83,770) 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 $51,979 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 $47,024 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.