- The middle half earn between $21.12 and $29.89 an hour.
- Kentucky ranks 24th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Kentucky pays more than 5 of its 7 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 200 appliance technicians on payrolls in Kentucky.
- At the state median wage, an appliance repair business needs to bill about $112.56 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Appliance Technician pay in Kentucky, bottom to top
BLS files these as home appliance repairers: the techs who repair, adjust and install electric and gas household appliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers and ovens.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $15.86 | $33,000 | $17.40 |
| 25th percentile | $21.12 | $43,930 | $21.05 |
| Median | $23.90 | $49,710 | $24.51 |
| 75th percentile | $29.89 | $62,180 | $30.47 |
| 90th percentile | $38.58 | $80,240 | $38.78 |
| Average (mean) | $26.20 | $54,500 | $26.94 |
Pay spreads out a lot in Kentucky. The bottom tenth earn $15.86 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $38.58 or more, a gap of 2.4 times against 2.2 nationally. Where a appliance technician sits on that range matters as much as the state.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $1.54 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $0.20 less than the national top tenth.
The average wage, $26.20, sits 10% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical appliance technician makes.
How Kentucky compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $49,710 in Kentucky against $50,990 nationally, $1,280 less.
In the state ranking, Kentucky sits 24th, between Rhode Island ($24.12) and Tennessee ($23.84). The range runs from $17.17 in West Virginia to $34.02 in Massachusetts.
Against its neighboring states, Kentucky is in the middle: Illinois and Virginia pay more, and Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Kentucky |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | $23.90 | $49,710 | |
| Illinois | $27.34 | $56,860 | +$3.44 an hour |
| Indiana | $22.64 | $47,080 | −$1.26 an hour |
| Missouri | $23.33 | $48,530 | −$0.57 an hour |
| Ohio | $22.74 | $47,300 | −$1.16 an hour |
| Tennessee | $23.84 | $49,580 | −$0.06 an hour |
| Virginia | $28.76 | $59,820 | +$4.86 an hour |
| West Virginia | $17.17 | $35,720 | −$6.73 an hour |
How many appliance technicians work in Kentucky
About 200 appliance technicians work on payrolls in Kentucky, 0.6% of the 32,150 nationwide, the 37th largest count among the states.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.1 per 1,000 jobs, 0.48 times the national share.
What an appliance repair business in Kentucky should charge
Say you run an appliance repair business in Kentucky and pay the state median of $23.90 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on its starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $23.90 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $53,515 |
| Break-even rate | ($53,515 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $95.68 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $95.68 ÷ 0.85 | $112.56 |
That is $112.56 per billable hour, 4.7 times the wage, and $1.07 less than the $113.63 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $29.89 in Kentucky, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $123.08.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $21.12, the rate only drops to $107.68.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as an appliance technician in Kentucky
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how appliance repair shops run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 49-9031, home appliance repairers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: appliance technician salary by state.