Wages by Occupation in East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area

Pay and jobs by occupation in the East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area (BLS, May 2025). BLS counts about 91,910 jobs across all occupations here, with a median annual wage of $39,990 for all occupations combined. 252 occupations have a published median wage in this area.

Wages by occupation

Occupation	Jobs	Median annual wage	Mean annual wage	Jobs per 1,000 jobs here	Concentration vs. U.S.
Accountants and Auditors	450	$64,450	$73,540	4.91	0.53
Administrative Services Managers	80	$90,250	$104,310	0.86	0.51
Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors	50	$44,180	$43,670	0.51	2.11
Animal Caretakers	60	$27,860	$31,310	0.69	0.40
Architectural and Civil Drafters	30	$74,750	$79,550	0.33	0.49
Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary	30	$46,590	$51,080	0.37	0.62
Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants	—	$20,850	$24,440	—	—
Automotive Body and Related Repairers	30	$35,500	$42,040	0.34	0.35
Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics	510	$37,030	$41,290	5.57	1.23
Bakers	60	$28,020	$29,620	0.61	0.40
Bartenders	120	$24,100	$28,920	1.29	0.26
Bill and Account Collectors	60	$43,510	$43,980	0.60	0.59
Billing and Posting Clerks	260	$41,810	$41,980	2.80	1.08
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks	1,190	$43,250	$44,920	12.92	1.46
Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists	250	$46,160	$48,790	2.73	1.47
Bus Drivers, School	610	$37,780	$39,380	6.65	2.57
Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity	150	$37,560	$36,350	1.61	1.58
Business Operations Specialists, All Other	150	$73,760	$80,270	1.60	0.23
Business Teachers, Postsecondary	40	$67,950	$64,700	0.39	0.74
Butchers and Meat Cutters	140	$29,020	$30,220	1.52	1.73
Buyers and Purchasing Agents	150	$53,890	$60,010	1.66	0.52
Cardiologists	30	$239,200 or more	$239,200 or more	0.34	3.07
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary	350	$61,940	$60,340	3.82	5.21
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School	30	$57,350	$62,170	0.33	0.46
Carpenters	250	$46,780	$50,080	2.74	0.64
Cashiers	3,610	$27,510	$26,730	39.30	1.98
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers	40	$48,380	$52,850	0.42	0.31
Chefs and Head Cooks	70	$56,290	$57,400	0.72	0.56
Chief Executives	60	$143,130	$183,720	0.66	0.50
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	1,070	$53,740	$54,760	11.68	4.63
Childcare Workers	300	$26,780	$26,760	3.27	0.98
Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians	360	$59,670	$61,820	3.94	8.94
Civil Engineers	100	$91,660	$92,650	1.08	0.45
Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators	100	$94,520	$93,440	1.10	0.53
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment	170	$28,560	$31,840	1.81	0.74
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	40	$81,520	$110,460	0.47	0.97
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians	290	$60,100	$58,000	3.16	1.48
Coaches and Scouts	90	$37,000	$50,760	0.95	0.59
Community Health Workers	100	$41,080	$42,120	1.06	2.68
Compliance Officers	240	$58,420	$57,500	2.56	0.96
Computer and Information Systems Managers	40	$121,920	$123,900	0.43	0.10
Computer Network Architects	40	$106,300	$108,030	0.42	0.36
Computer Network Support Specialists	70	$59,010	$61,990	0.81	0.86
Computer User Support Specialists	220	$47,300	$51,370	2.39	0.52
Construction and Building Inspectors	70	$59,000	$61,110	0.76	0.80
Construction Laborers	510	$44,090	$43,130	5.53	0.78
Construction Managers	130	$81,350	$90,080	1.37	0.56
Continuous Mining Machine Operators	320	$52,640	$57,780	3.44	38.19
Cooks, Fast Food	1,620	$21,620	$22,340	17.60	4.27
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	1,020	$26,960	$27,750	11.05	3.90
Cooks, Restaurant	320	$28,500	$30,480	3.52	0.39
Correctional Officers and Jailers	1,610	$42,310	$46,000	17.56	7.17
Counter and Rental Clerks	80	$37,630	$40,300	0.91	0.35
Couriers and Messengers	30	$34,480	$33,750	0.33	0.74
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks	180	$43,050	$43,540	1.97	1.70
Customer Service Representatives	1,210	$35,530	$36,980	13.21	0.79
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	40	$40,170	$40,640	0.46	0.42
Data Entry Keyers	30	$36,850	$38,200	0.36	0.44
Data Scientists	40	$80,990	$78,960	0.41	0.25
Dental Assistants	160	$36,220	$40,020	1.74	0.70
Dental Hygienists	70	$64,120	$66,340	0.80	0.56
Dentists, General	40	$161,620	$178,940	0.48	0.60
Detectives and Criminal Investigators	30	$61,730	$63,450	0.35	0.47
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	—	$84,000	$77,980	—	—
Dietitians and Nutritionists	60	$66,210	$63,880	0.62	1.25
Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance	80	$38,430	$45,830	0.87	0.67
Driver/Sales Workers	370	$37,030	$36,460	4.05	1.54
Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary	460	$83,660	$83,390	5.04	2.39
Education Administrators, Postsecondary	30	$99,290	$109,730	0.37	0.32
Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare	50	$42,530	$45,290	0.59	1.25
Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other	290	$45,170	$46,450	3.11	4.08
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors	310	$56,840	$55,500	3.35	1.47
Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	250	$75,550	$74,490	2.69	3.19
Electricians	340	$58,830	$58,360	3.69	0.76
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education	1,680	$59,130	$53,880	18.25	2.04
Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs	80	$55,380	$56,920	0.82	0.82
Emergency Medical Technicians	250	$31,200	$33,640	2.75	2.37
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health	120	$56,190	$62,010	1.25	2.18
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants	90	$54,660	$56,500	0.97	0.33
Family Medicine Physicians	130	$283,070	$288,310	1.37	1.99
Fast Food and Counter Workers	2,010	$23,070	$24,320	21.84	0.88
Financial and Investment Analysts	50	$92,590	$93,910	0.52	0.22
Financial Examiners	30	$64,190	$65,160	0.36	0.82
Financial Managers	180	$106,080	$124,040	1.91	0.35
Firefighters	350	$24,960	$30,000	3.76	1.69
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	510	$66,910	$73,220	5.58	1.07
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers	200	$61,300	$60,460	2.16	6.28
First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers, Except Gambling Services	40	$38,750	$42,520	0.48	0.72
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers	1,010	$30,000	$33,440	10.97	1.39
First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers	120	$36,600	$43,850	1.26	1.09
First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers	50	$50,390	$49,960	0.59	0.70
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	440	$66,100	$72,090	4.78	1.20
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	—	$75,490	$75,720	—	—
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	950	$54,900	$57,640	10.31	1.12
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	70	$104,170	$87,950	0.75	0.75
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	260	$62,370	$64,110	2.79	0.64
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	1,330	$35,320	$40,340	14.42	2.00
First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors	290	$52,580	$55,540	3.10	0.77
Food Preparation Workers	770	$22,780	$25,200	8.33	1.45
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant	90	$28,370	$27,790	1.00	0.53
Food Service Managers	70	$66,300	$65,770	0.79	0.51
Fundraisers	50	$62,440	$62,190	0.51	0.71
Funeral Home Managers	40	$45,210	$56,330	0.43	4.83
General and Operations Managers	2,140	$64,860	$88,500	23.31	1.03
General Internal Medicine Physicians	70	$263,160	$270,130	0.75	1.74
Graphic Designers	40	$36,850	$41,010	0.40	0.31
Health Education Specialists	30	$56,530	$54,500	0.38	0.89
Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars	80	$36,840	$41,820	0.84	3.43
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	90	$63,180	$74,140	0.98	0.69
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	130	$48,540	$50,480	1.38	1.17
Healthcare Social Workers	140	$57,580	$57,800	1.48	1.23
Healthcare Support Workers, All Other	50	$40,470	$47,090	0.49	0.70
Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers	190	$55,800	$57,120	2.02	0.77
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	1,030	$49,290	$53,940	11.19	0.84
Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers	40	$36,930	$42,710	0.41	0.67
Highway Maintenance Workers	440	$38,150	$38,610	4.75	4.77
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	2,280	$32,610	$36,510	24.84	0.90
Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop	120	$22,210	$23,140	1.26	0.45
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks	100	$26,840	$27,120	1.12	0.67
Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping	30	$42,310	$43,050	0.38	0.65
Human Resources Specialists	310	$54,180	$60,090	3.40	0.58
Industrial Machinery Mechanics	400	$60,780	$64,560	4.35	1.54
Industrial Production Managers	220	$126,050	$111,000	2.36	1.49
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators	100	$46,320	$46,760	1.13	0.23
Information and Record Clerks, All Other	60	$42,080	$45,730	0.69	0.80
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers	180	$38,770	$43,740	1.91	0.50
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other	50	$47,290	$48,310	0.56	0.49
Instructional Coordinators	150	$73,680	$70,790	1.65	1.13
Insurance Sales Agents	80	$47,400	$58,410	0.88	0.29
Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan	90	$34,410	$33,830	1.03	1.08
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	1,180	$28,190	$29,260	12.79	0.90
Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	40	$141,750	$129,470	0.48	3.10
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education	200	$50,640	$52,740	2.19	3.13
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	890	$33,090	$35,270	9.71	0.51
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers	340	$34,170	$35,140	3.71	0.61
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers	70	$26,880	$27,160	0.78	0.61
Lawyers	330	$85,280	$101,740	3.64	0.75
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants	210	$36,040	$35,750	2.26	2.25
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists	120	$64,090	$62,790	1.29	1.50
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	680	$58,000	$56,150	7.43	1.78
Light Truck Drivers	620	$37,980	$44,120	6.77	1.07
Loan Interviewers and Clerks	160	$46,390	$46,280	1.75	1.65
Loan Officers	160	$65,480	$72,540	1.78	1.01
Logging Equipment Operators	50	$39,050	$39,460	0.52	3.86
Machinists	160	$52,450	$53,530	1.71	0.92
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	720	$28,130	$28,320	7.81	1.41
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General	1,220	$37,270	$40,880	13.27	1.35
Maintenance Workers, Machinery	100	$74,760	$79,720	1.06	2.74
Managers, All Other	40	$79,930	$89,620	0.40	0.10
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	120	$48,420	$55,750	1.32	0.23
Medical and Health Services Managers	680	$82,500	$92,760	7.36	1.92
Medical Assistants	990	$37,120	$37,100	10.79	2.05
Medical Records Specialists	290	$38,850	$42,490	3.14	2.51
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants	2,020	$35,300	$35,100	21.95	3.55
Medical Transcriptionists	100	$29,310	$30,100	1.11	4.17
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners	50	$30,790	$40,450	0.56	0.61
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers	200	$38,530	$41,850	2.14	2.51
Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers	60	$35,740	$40,190	0.69	0.65
Meter Readers, Utilities	80	$40,980	$43,520	0.83	6.61
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	440	$58,970	$53,920	4.81	1.21
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	160	$39,250	$40,790	1.76	0.19
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	40	$45,300	$42,480	0.47	0.76
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines	310	$51,860	$54,410	3.41	3.00
Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers	50	$34,520	$38,690	0.59	3.67
Network and Computer Systems Administrators	70	$65,300	$70,550	0.78	0.38
Nurse Practitioners	510	$124,920	$118,390	5.55	2.67
Nursing Assistants	2,020	$35,330	$35,000	22.00	2.36
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary	40	$63,880	$67,750	0.45	0.90
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	130	$89,100	$84,630	1.45	1.61
Occupational Therapists	140	$95,580	$92,150	1.51	1.45
Office Clerks, General	1,420	$32,440	$33,920	15.46	0.98
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	510	$56,990	$57,910	5.56	1.81
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians	70	$37,690	$37,640	0.72	1.58
Opticians, Dispensing	40	$44,900	$48,500	0.47	0.99
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	430	$37,780	$39,080	4.67	1.91
Packers and Packagers, Hand	80	$38,010	$38,380	0.85	0.24
Paralegals and Legal Assistants	190	$48,790	$52,990	2.02	0.80
Paramedics	150	$46,140	$48,100	1.64	2.54
Parts Salespersons	250	$27,820	$32,240	2.67	1.54
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks	70	$41,110	$44,400	0.75	0.76
Personal Financial Advisors	30	$68,080	$70,850	0.37	0.22
Pest Control Workers	50	$37,860	$39,540	0.58	0.87
Pharmacists	370	$134,040	$124,040	4.05	1.95
Pharmacy Aides	80	$34,860	$35,170	0.87	3.42
Pharmacy Technicians	920	$37,470	$37,330	10.05	3.31
Phlebotomists	130	$35,910	$36,290	1.37	1.49
Physical Therapist Assistants	140	$56,670	$57,450	1.51	2.09
Physical Therapists	130	$90,010	$94,240	1.40	0.81
Physician Assistants	70	$111,420	$113,810	0.77	0.74
Physicians, All Other	100	$364,180	$359,020	1.13	0.51
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	150	$56,720	$61,830	1.68	0.56
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers	440	$48,680	$52,600	4.77	1.11
Postal Service Clerks	250	$63,650	$60,130	2.73	5.76
Postal Service Mail Carriers	180	$55,610	$58,660	1.92	0.91
Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	40	$94,740	$94,340	0.47	5.27
Postsecondary Teachers, All Other	180	$51,590	$58,190	1.91	1.98
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education	430	$29,630	$34,250	4.69	1.52
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists	100	$58,510	$59,080	1.13	1.97
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks	80	$52,040	$55,070	0.88	0.35
Project Management Specialists	260	$78,100	$85,610	2.80	0.41
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers	90	$45,650	$49,670	1.03	0.51
Protective Service Workers, All Other	40	$51,240	$51,220	0.42	0.81
Public Relations Specialists	90	$46,340	$51,230	0.97	0.53
Public Safety Telecommunicators	140	$35,150	$39,560	1.56	2.37
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians	340	$62,890	$62,500	3.65	2.46
Real Estate Sales Agents	40	$62,900	$65,270	0.41	0.33
Receptionists and Information Clerks	370	$29,640	$31,440	4.07	0.69
Recreation Workers	180	$36,840	$37,130	1.91	0.90
Registered Nurses	3,190	$73,520	$74,850	34.71	1.60
Rehabilitation Counselors	70	$33,990	$38,100	0.74	1.21
Residential Advisors	80	$30,160	$31,750	0.82	1.51
Respiratory Therapists	200	$62,570	$60,680	2.16	2.40
Retail Salespersons	2,250	$28,360	$30,990	24.51	0.98
Sales Managers	150	$104,690	$128,170	1.68	0.41
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel	240	$47,750	$57,760	2.65	0.33
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products	360	$56,160	$66,740	3.89	0.49
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products	40	$80,700	$87,580	0.40	0.22
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	990	$60,270	$56,280	10.80	1.58
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive	1,210	$38,280	$39,920	13.16	1.20
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents	180	$51,920	$67,110	2.00	0.64
Security Guards	540	$29,700	$31,540	5.88	0.71
Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks	310	$37,370	$41,010	3.37	0.64
Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs	130	$30,120	$31,300	1.40	0.87
Social and Community Service Managers	150	$75,410	$76,050	1.68	1.24
Social and Human Service Assistants	540	$35,270	$35,600	5.91	2.10
Social Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, All Other	50	$59,390	$63,250	0.50	4.66
Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other	40	$85,020	$81,870	0.41	1.73
Social Workers, All Other	50	$49,330	$59,740	0.59	1.45
Software Developers	130	$104,920	$115,180	1.39	0.13
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	430	$58,360	$53,800	4.71	2.81
Special Education Teachers, Middle School	80	$56,690	$52,620	0.86	1.40
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School	250	$58,410	$55,780	2.72	2.58
Speech-Language Pathologists	160	$74,620	$79,040	1.78	1.51
Stockers and Order Fillers	2,020	$31,050	$32,070	22.00	1.21
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors	720	$46,580	$52,370	7.79	2.46
Surgical Technologists	90	$46,290	$49,090	1.02	1.36
Surveying and Mapping Technicians	30	$41,600	$43,750	0.34	0.92
Taxi Drivers	60	$35,670	$34,920	0.61	2.30
Teachers and Instructors, All Other	310	$48,560	$52,770	3.36	4.59
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary	1,540	$25,290	$26,310	16.76	1.83
Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers	220	$53,880	$57,540	2.41	2.66
Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers	120	$61,670	$62,930	1.30	2.07
Tellers	360	$35,060	$35,110	3.88	1.83
Training and Development Specialists	210	$54,510	$58,500	2.27	0.77
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	50	$90,290	$94,730	0.53	0.37
Tutors	70	$30,930	$32,690	0.72	0.64
Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers	30	$21,430	$28,630	0.36	0.46
Veterinarians	30	$95,760	$87,960	0.38	0.70
Waiters and Waitresses	630	$27,030	$31,520	6.80	0.47
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	290	$38,250	$42,260	3.13	3.79
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	220	$57,660	$61,630	2.44	0.91
Word Processors and Typists	—	$32,850	$32,700	—	—

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, metropolitan area estimates (cross-industry, all ownerships). Wages are pay for all workers in an occupation in this area, not any one person or employer; a dash means BLS does not publish the figure (often to protect privacy or because the estimate is unreliable), and “or more” marks a wage at or above BLS’s top reporting limit. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of jobs in this area divided by its share nationally (1.00 = the same share as the U.S.; above 1.00 = a larger share); it says nothing about pay or openings. Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's jobs per 1,000 jobs of all kinds in this area. Occupations that BLS reports only as hourly wages are not listed, and BLS shows some wages above its top limit as plain numbers while others read “or more”. Occupations are listed alphabetically; click a heading to sort. MajorPays does not rank places or occupations. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation. MajorPays does not provide advice. See Data sources.

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