What skilled trades pay in Kentucky, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 39 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is electrical lineworker at a $77,020 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Kentucky pay page.
How Kentucky compares
7 of the 38 trades we track in Kentucky pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for rebar worker (+18%), plumber (+4%) and insulation installer (+3%), and the biggest gaps for elevator installer (-61%) and electrical lineworker (-20%). Prices in Kentucky's metros run about 10% below the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $934 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Kentucky
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is landscaper at $36,670.
Every trade in Kentucky
Statewide medians and jobs, BLS OEWS May 2025. “vs. U.S.” compares with the typical U.S. metro median for the trade.
Where the jobs are
- Maintenance Technician: 22,190 jobs
- Construction Laborer: 13,280 jobs
- Industrial Machinery Mechanic: 11,540 jobs
- Auto Mechanic: 11,140 jobs
- Electrician: 11,030 jobs
Kentucky metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
- Lexington: +3.4% (14,280 workers)
- Louisville/Jefferson County: +2.2% (30,974 workers)
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
8.9% of Kentucky workers belong to a union (10.5% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Kentucky who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in plumber (78%), HVAC technician (70%) and heavy equipment operator (65%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 110 wage cases against construction employers in Kentucky, recovering $4,056,932 in back wages for 1,962 workers.
DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, cases concluded 2018–2026. Counts only; employers aren't named here.
Safety inspections
In 2025, Kentucky's state-run safety program and federal OSHA opened 296 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 38% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (13 after an accident or fatality); the rest were planned spot checks.
OSHA inspection data via the U.S. Department of Labor, construction (NAICS 23), inspections opened in 2025. Counts only.
Storm and disaster rebuild work
Since 2016, the Kentucky metros with the most federal major disasters are Bowling Green (13), Louisville/Jefferson County (13) and Paducah (10) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Kentucky, 558 employers and programs are approved for GI Bill on-the-job training and apprenticeships, across all fields. Veterans in an approved trade apprenticeship can get a monthly housing allowance on top of apprentice pay. Search approved employers with the VA's GI Bill Comparison Tool.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, GI Bill Comparison Tool data, October 2026.
Common questions
What is the highest-paying skilled trade in Kentucky?
Electrical Lineworker pays the most of the trades we track, with a $77,020 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by construction supervisor and rebar worker.
Which trade has the most jobs in Kentucky?
maintenance technicians, with about 22,190 jobs statewide, followed by construction laborers and industrial machinery mechanics.
Which Kentucky city pays the trades best?
Louisville/Jefferson County, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Paducah.
Is construction hiring growing in Kentucky?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 3.4% from a year earlier in Lexington, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and up 2.2% in Louisville/Jefferson County.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Kentucky 2026, payby.trade/report/ky/.”