How much does a Financial Analyst make in Kentucky?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $75,260 for Financial Analysts in Kentucky as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $60,000 and the 75th-percentile is $95,770.

What does the top of the Financial Analyst pay scale look like in Kentucky?

The 90th percentile lands at $115,190. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $95,770.

Why is the BEA RPP for Kentucky different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Kentucky's overall index of 89.9 reflects rents 62.9, services 80.9, and goods 94.5.

Is Kentucky a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Financial Analysts?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 89.9 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $75,260 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $83,725. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Financial Analysts comparing offers across regions.

What are the limits of these Financial Analyst salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Buy-side vs sell-side vs corporate finance analyst pay in Kentucky?

BLS aggregates SOC 13-2051 (Financial and Investment Analysts) without segmenting by sector. In Kentucky, buy-side roles at hedge funds, asset managers, and private equity firms typically lead on total comp at every level — bonus carry / performance fees can dwarf base. Sell-side investment banking analysts in Kentucky earn high cash comp but with steep hours; equity research mid-band; corporate finance / FP&A analysts earn the lowest among financial-analyst-track roles but with the most predictable hours. The Kentucky BLS median primarily reflects the corporate / FP&A end of the band; high-finance-cluster cities show much higher P90s as a result.

Kentucky Financial Analyst Salary: BLS $75K Median, Real $84K (2026)

TL;DR

Financial Analysts in Kentucky earn a BLS median of $75,260, with real take-home of $83,725 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Quartile range $60,000 (bottom 25%) to $95,770 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $49,730 to $115,190.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $8,465 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #44 of 51; nominal rank is #47.

Wage breakdown — Kentucky

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$49,730	$55,323
P25 (lower quartile)	$60,000	$66,748
P50 (median)	$75,260	$83,725
P75 (upper quartile)	$95,770	$106,541
P90 (top tier)	$115,190	$128,146
Mean	$79,550	$88,497
Employment	2,520 Financial Analysts in Kentucky

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Kentucky index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	89.9
Goods	94.5
Services	80.9
Rents	62.9

Kentucky sits below the national baseline (RPP 89.9), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 62.9.

After-tax take-home — Kentucky (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Financial Analyst)	$75,260	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$7,804	10.4% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,520	3.5% flat 2026 (+ local 1-2.5% avg)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$5,757	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$59,179	78.6% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$65,835	÷ (89.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Kentucky state-tax burden means for Financial Analyst take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.3% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $59,179 (78.6% of gross). After the 89.9 RPP, real take-home is $65,835. Local-tax overlay: Most Kentucky counties + cities add 1–2.5% occupational license tax (Louisville ~2.2%, Lexington 2.25%).

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $101,350 for Financial Analysts with mean pay of $116,490 and total employment of 340,580. Kentucky sits at #47 on nominal pay and #44 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Kentucky climbs 3 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Financial Analyst make in Kentucky?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $75,260 for Financial Analysts in Kentucky as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $60,000 and the 75th-percentile is $95,770.
What does the top of the Financial Analyst pay scale look like in Kentucky?: The 90th percentile lands at $115,190. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $95,770.
Why is the BEA RPP for Kentucky different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Kentucky's overall index of 89.9 reflects rents 62.9, services 80.9, and goods 94.5.
Is Kentucky a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Financial Analysts?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 89.9 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $75,260 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $83,725. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Financial Analysts comparing offers across regions.
What are the limits of these Financial Analyst salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Buy-side vs sell-side vs corporate finance analyst pay in Kentucky?: BLS aggregates SOC 13-2051 (Financial and Investment Analysts) without segmenting by sector. In Kentucky, buy-side roles at hedge funds, asset managers, and private equity firms typically lead on total comp at every level — bonus carry / performance fees can dwarf base. Sell-side investment banking analysts in Kentucky earn high cash comp but with steep hours; equity research mid-band; corporate finance / FP&A analysts earn the lowest among financial-analyst-track roles but with the most predictable hours. The Kentucky BLS median primarily reflects the corporate / FP&A end of the band; high-finance-cluster cities show much higher P90s as a result.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 13-2051, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Kentucky Financial Analyst pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.