Weekly wages continue to rise across the country, including in Kentucky.
An analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the average weekly wage in 2023 was $1,391 for all covered employment in the United States, up 3.3% from 2022 and up 22.1% from 2019.
Wages in Kentucky
The average weekly wage in Kentucky in 2023 was $1,119 – nearly 24% lower than the national average of $1,391. However, from 2022 to 2023, Kentucky’s average weekly wage grew by 4.3%, faster than the national average of 3.3%.
Kentucky’s average weekly wage has grown 22.1% since 2019, when the wage was $918.
Across all states, Kentucky had the tenth lowest average weekly wage in 2023. Mississippi ($945), Arkansas ($1,071), South Dakota ($1,078) and West Virginia ($1,078) had the lowest wages overall. Wages were highest in Massachusetts ($1,760), New York ($1,757) and Washington ($1,702).
County trends
Average weekly wages varied substantially across Kentucky counties in 2023. In 26 counties, the average weekly wage was less than $800. In 30 counties, the wage was more than $1,000. The average weekly wage was higher than the national average in only one county: Hancock County at $1,495.
From 2022 to 2023, average weekly wages grew in all but seven counties, with four counties experiencing double digit growth – Muhlenberg (+10%), Elliott (+10.6%), Scott (+11.3%) and Owen (+11.8%).
More than half of the counties in Kentucky – 61 – saw wages grow from 2019 to 2023 faster than the national average. Counties with the biggest increase in wages included Carlisle (+34.1%), Todd (+38.2%), Elliott (+44.8%) and Meade (+53.5%). Nationally over this period, wages grew by 22.1%.
Data Source: KACo analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (average weekly wage, 2023 annual average, all industries, total covered)
