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 SEC filings, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and aggregated job postings across 50+ platforms. 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 April 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 – $399,000 |
| 2 | Senior VP of Security | $305,000 | Louisville | $238,000 – $396,000 |
| 3 | Senior VP of Product | $302,000 | Louisville | $236,000 – $392,000 |
| 4 | Technical Fellow | $299,000 | Louisville | $233,000 – $388,000 |
| 5 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $296,000 | Louisville | $231,000 – $384,000 |
| 6 | Chief Security Officer | $293,000 | Louisville | $228,000 – $381,000 |
| 7 | Distinguished Engineer | $290,000 | Louisville | $220,000 – $370,000 |
| 8 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $285,000 | Louisville | $223,000 – $370,000 |
| 9 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $283,000 | Louisville | $221,000 – $368,000 |
| 10 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $283,000 | Louisville | $221,000 – $368,000 |
| 11 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $282,000 | Louisville | $220,000 – $367,000 |
| 12 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $278,000 | Louisville | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 13 | Principal Cryptographer | $277,000 | Louisville | $217,000 – $361,000 |
| 14 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $274,000 | Louisville | $214,000 – $357,000 |
| 15 | SVP of Technology | $274,000 | Louisville | $214,000 – $357,000 |
| 16 | L7 Software Engineer | $273,000 | Louisville | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 17 | CTO | $272,000 | Louisville | $212,000 – $353,000 |
| 18 | Chief Strategy Officer | $270,000 | Louisville | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 19 | Chief Science Officer | $269,000 | Lexington | $210,000 – $350,000 |
| 20 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $268,000 | Lexington | $210,000 – $349,000 |
| 21 | Chief Architect | $268,000 | Lexington | $209,000 – $349,000 |
| 22 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $267,000 | Louisville | $199,000 – $349,000 |
| 23 | Principal Applied Scientist | $267,000 | Louisville | $208,000 – $347,000 |
| 24 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $267,000 | Louisville | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 25 | SVP of Product | $267,000 | Louisville | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 26 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $266,000 | Lexington | $207,000 – $345,000 |
| 27 | VP of AI | $265,000 | Louisville | $201,000 – $348,000 |
| 28 | Principal LLM Engineer | $265,000 | Louisville | $206,000 – $344,000 |
| 29 | VP of AI Research | $265,000 | Louisville | $207,000 – $345,000 |
| 30 | SVP of Strategy | $263,000 | Lexington | $205,000 – $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.
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