Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,477
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$9,203
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,741
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
$49,680
Kept after tax
$40,477
Worth in national money
$44,741
State rank
13
of 45 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 $49,680, ranking 13 of 45 states and sitting about 15.78% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 280.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,680 you keep $40,477, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,741 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $48,400, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kentucky's median for teaching assistants, postsecondary is $49,680, about 15.78% above the national figure and 13 of 45 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, teaching assistants, postsecondary sits at 280 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for teaching assistants, postsecondary on $49,680 is $40,477. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,741 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 $48,400 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,270 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,200 |
| This salary | $49,680 |
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 | $40,477 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,098 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,420 |
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 | $47,662 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,717 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kentucky earn less than $49,680. The published range is $31,270 up to $80,200, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $40,477, worked from $49,680. 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 280 of 491.
- Two cautions on $44,741, the adjusted value of that $49,680 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Kentucky. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 280 of 491 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for teaching assistants, postsecondary in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,270 to $80,200. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $40,477, on $49,680 for work ranking 280 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 280 of 491 in the state.
- This $44,741 adjusted figure, worked from $49,680, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 280 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 280 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $31,270 at the bottom tenth to $80,200 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $44,741 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 $40,477 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($31,270) and the ninetieth ($80,200) 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 $44,741 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 $40,477 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.