Kentucky came in at No. 19 on a list that ranks states by salaries for technology workers.
Business.org recently analyzed each state by comparing the average annual tech salaries to the salary of all occupations using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While Kentucky's average tech salary lags far behind states with more tech companies (and higher costs of living), it's still far higher than what other, non-tech workers make in the state.
According to Business.org's report, tech workers in Kentucky earn an average annual salary of $75,330 and an average hourly wage of $36.21. That's 64% more than the average salary in the commonwealth, which is $46,000.
Alabama, Washington and North Carolina had the highest percentage difference between tech and non-tech worker compensation, with the average tech salary all ranging between 80% to 85% higher than all other occupations. Washington, California and Washington D.C. had the highest tech salaries across the country, at $122,640, $116,820 and $113,930, respectively.
As I recently reported in July, Louisville was recognized among the "Next 25" for emerging tech talent markets in North America in CBRE’s annual Scoring Tech Talent report. The city's tech talent employment has grown by 31% in the last five years, employing a total of 19,290 tech workers in 2020.
In comparing those two reports, Louisville's average tech wage was slightly higher than Kentucky's at $83,943, which was a 16% growth over the last five years.
