Kentucky RN Salary - How Much Do RNs Make in KY?

According to May 2018 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Kentucky employs about 42,400 registered nurses. This is approximately 1.6 percent of the total number of RNs in the country. The median annual RN salary in Kentucky was $56,680 at the time when this BLS data was recorded. This correlates to about $27.25 per hour. This is much lower than the national average of $65,470 per year.

The median RN salary in Kentucky is somewhat lower than the mean, at $57,520. Registered nurses with earnings in the top tenth percentile made $74,420 or more in 2018. Those with salaries above the 75th percentile made $66,870 or more. 25 percent of Kentucky RNs earned $48,170 or less in 2018. In addition to the lower wages, the cost of living in Kentucky is about ten percent below the national average. This state was said to have the fourth lowest cost of living in the country in 2018.

The vast majority of Kentucky registered nurses are employed in the Louisville-Jefferson County metropolitan area, which encompasses part of Indiana. 14,760 RNs worked in this area in 2018. The median annual salary for RNs in Louisville-Jefferson County was $59,890 at the time of the BLS report. RN salaries in this area ranged from under $41,210 to upwards of $75,770. In May 2018, this was the highest paying area in the state for registered nursing.

The Elizabethtown and Lexington-Fayette areas were not far behind the Louisville-Jefferson County area in terms of average salary. In Elizabethtown, the median annual salary was $58,740, but 25 percent of nurses earned $68,660 or more. In the Lexington-Fayette area, the median annual salary for this occupation was $57,460. RN salaries here ranged from less than $43,830 to more than $73,620.

Resources

• https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Registered-nurses.htm