Salaries in Kentucky.
2 metro areas. 3445 roles.
Average cost-of-living index: 0.87x national average. Last updated April 2026.
2 cities tracked3445 roles
Highest Paying
$307,000
Principal Quantitative Researcher
Median Role
$273,000
L7 Software Engineer
Entry Level
$263,000
SVP of Strategy
Salary data sourced from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), state pay-transparency job postings, and community submissions. Ranges reflect 25th to 75th percentile for full-time positions. Cost-of-living adjustments use Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2025 index). Last updated June 2026.
Kentucky has 2 major metro areas tracked in our salary database, with an average cost-of-living index of 0.87x the national average. The highest-paying role across the state is Principal Quantitative Researcher at $307,000 in Lexington. The median role pays $273,000.
Top 30 salaries in Kentucky
| # | Role | Median | Top City | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $307,000 | Lexington | $239,000 to $399,000 |
| 2 | Senior VP of Security | $305,000 | Louisville | $238,000 to $396,000 |
| 3 | Senior VP of Product | $302,000 | Louisville | $236,000 to $392,000 |
| 4 | Technical Fellow | $299,000 | Louisville | $233,000 to $388,000 |
| 5 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $296,000 | Louisville | $231,000 to $384,000 |
| 6 | Chief Security Officer | $293,000 | Louisville | $228,000 to $381,000 |
| 7 | Distinguished Engineer | $290,000 | Louisville | $220,000 to $370,000 |
| 8 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $285,000 | Louisville | $223,000 to $370,000 |
| 9 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $283,000 | Louisville | $221,000 to $368,000 |
| 10 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $283,000 | Louisville | $221,000 to $368,000 |
| 11 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $282,000 | Louisville | $220,000 to $367,000 |
| 12 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $278,000 | Louisville | $217,000 to $362,000 |
| 13 | Principal Cryptographer | $277,000 | Louisville | $217,000 to $361,000 |
| 14 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $274,000 | Louisville | $214,000 to $357,000 |
| 15 | SVP of Technology | $274,000 | Louisville | $214,000 to $357,000 |
| 16 | L7 Software Engineer | $273,000 | Louisville | $213,000 to $355,000 |
| 17 | CTO | $272,000 | Louisville | $212,000 to $353,000 |
| 18 | Chief Strategy Officer | $270,000 | Louisville | $211,000 to $351,000 |
| 19 | Chief Science Officer | $269,000 | Lexington | $210,000 to $350,000 |
| 20 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $268,000 | Lexington | $210,000 to $349,000 |
| 21 | Chief Architect | $268,000 | Lexington | $209,000 to $349,000 |
| 22 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $267,000 | Louisville | $199,000 to $349,000 |
| 23 | Principal Applied Scientist | $267,000 | Louisville | $208,000 to $347,000 |
| 24 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $267,000 | Louisville | $209,000 to $348,000 |
| 25 | SVP of Product | $267,000 | Louisville | $209,000 to $348,000 |
| 26 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $266,000 | Lexington | $207,000 to $345,000 |
| 27 | VP of AI | $265,000 | Louisville | $201,000 to $348,000 |
| 28 | Principal LLM Engineer | $265,000 | Louisville | $206,000 to $344,000 |
| 29 | VP of AI Research | $265,000 | Louisville | $207,000 to $345,000 |
| 30 | SVP of Strategy | $263,000 | Lexington | $205,000 to $342,000 |
Tax considerations in Kentucky
Kentucky has a flat 4% state income tax. Louisville has an occupational tax of about 2.2%. The combined rate is moderate, and the low cost of living offsets the local tax.
Kentucky has a flat 4% state income tax. Lexington has an occupational tax of about 2.25%. The combined rate is moderate and the very affordable housing stretches salaries further.
Know the number. Get the offer.
Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.
Start