SALARY · COOKS, FAST FOOD · KENTUCKY

Cooks, Fast Food salary in Kentucky

A job title alone does not tell you what you will earn. Place matters, sometimes by tens of thousands of dollars. In Kentucky, cooks, fast food sat at a median of $23,500 a year, which is the figure I would use first when you compare offers.

MEDIAN ANNUAL SALARY

$23,500

$11 per hour at the median · That is $7,390 (23.9 percent) below the national median of $30,890 for this occupation.

$25,300Mean annual salary
$12Mean hourly wage
$21,750People employed in this job in Kentucky

Salary range

25th: $22,030Median: $23,50075th: $27,890
MeasureAnnual
25th percentile$22,030
Median (50th percentile)$23,500
75th percentile$27,890
Mean$25,300

The middle half of workers earned from $22,030 to $27,890 a year. Employment size matters too. A field with many workers in a state usually means more openings and more room to move employers without moving states. A small field can pay well but offer fewer ways in.

What stays in your pocket on the median salary

ESTIMATED TAKE-HOME PAY

$20,257 a year
$1,688 a month
Federal tax $740 · FICA $1,798 · State tax $705

Caveat: the Kentucky form was retrieved via a reproduction, not directly from revenue.ky.gov.

Kentucky city and county occupational taxes are separate and are not in this figure.

Read this before you use the take-home figure. It is a single-filer estimate using the 2026 standard deduction. It leaves out credits, other deductions, local taxes, and retirement or health deductions. Your actual paycheck can differ, and for states without a verified 2026 table in this build, state tax is still to be added once its table is verified.

Same job, other states

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