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Kentucky engineer salary

Estimate

Updated March 2025

What engineers earn across Kentucky, from published wage data — explore it city by city and discipline by discipline.

Typical pay

$100,716

Kentucky

Top earners

$146,080

Higher end

vs national

-16% vs national

U.S. $120,395

Cities

4

in this state

Engineers in Kentucky earn a blended median of $100,716 per year, -16% vs national, with top earners near $146,080. That blends 11 engineering occupations across 22,260 published jobs in Kentucky. Per-discipline figures below are published wage data, not modeled.

Engineering pay by role in Kentucky

Published wage data for each discipline in Kentucky. Disciplines without published data for this state are not listed.

20results

Engineering salaries by city in Kentucky

Open a city for its full role breakdown — or add a city we don't cover yet.

Top-paying

Lexington

$109,297

-9% vs national

View Lexington salaries

Paducah

$101,908

-15% vs national

View Paducah salaries

Louisville

$101,572

-16% vs national

View Louisville salaries

Bowling Green

$96,943

-19% vs national

View Bowling Green salaries

Elizabethtown

$94,705

-21% vs national

View Elizabethtown salaries

Owensboro

$93,603

-22% vs national

View Owensboro salaries

More cities in Kentucky

We don't publish a separate estimate for these yet. Use the Kentucky estimate above as your starting point — and add your pay to put your city on the map.

Estimate any city
Bowling GreenCovingtonLexington

Don't see your city? Submit your salary or request a city — new cities appear as engineers contribute.

What affects engineering pay in Kentucky

  • ▹Local market. Kentucky pay runs -16% vs national for the typical engineer, driven by local demand and living costs.
  • ▹Discipline mix. Software, petroleum, and engineering-management roles pull averages up; civil and environmental roles sit lower. Use the role table above for specifics.
  • ▹Metro concentration. Pay clusters in Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green and other metros, which run above the statewide estimate.
  • ▹Remote & experience.Remote roles often anchor to a company's HQ market rather than Kentucky; seniority can swing pay ±35% around the median.

Engineer salaries in Kentucky — FAQ

How much do engineers make in Kentucky?
Engineers in Kentucky earn a blended median of $100,716 per year — 16% below the national average — across 11 engineering occupations and 22,260 jobs. There is no single BLS "engineer" occupation, so this blends the published medians of the engineering occupations reported for the area, weighted by local employment (BLS OEWS May 2024).
What is the highest-paying engineering job in Kentucky?
Engineering Managers have the highest published median in Kentucky, at $134,880 per year, per BLS OEWS May 2024.
Is Kentucky a good state for engineers?
Engineering pay in Kentucky runs 16% below the national average, across 22,260 engineering jobs. Cost of living is often lower to match, so real take-home can still be strong.
Which cities in Kentucky pay engineers the most?
Engineering pay is highest in Lexington ($109,297), Cincinnati ($108,404), and Paducah ($101,908), based on published BLS metro-area wages.
Source details

BLS publishes no single "engineer" occupation. This blends the published medians of 11 engineering occupations in Kentucky, weighted by local employment (22,260 jobs).

Benchmarks come from published government wage data via BLS OEWS. Local and emerging-role figures are labeled estimates. Full methodology →

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