- The middle half earn between $17.89 and $29.25 an hour.
- Kentucky is 42nd of the 50 states and DC, in the bottom ten for this trade.
- Kentucky pays more than 1 of its 7 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 22,190 handymen on payrolls in Kentucky.
- At the state median wage, a handyman business needs to bill about $110.10 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Handyman pay in Kentucky, bottom to top
BLS has no separate figure for handymen. These are its numbers for general maintenance and repair workers, the closest group: people who keep buildings and equipment in repair using the skills of two or more trades. Real estate, schools and government are among the top industries BLS lists for them.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $14.65 | $30,470 | $17.00 |
| 25th percentile | $17.89 | $37,220 | $19.64 |
| Median | $22.50 | $46,810 | $23.84 |
| 75th percentile | $29.25 | $60,840 | $30.10 |
| 90th percentile | $36.41 | $75,740 | $37.11 |
| Average (mean) | $24.20 | $50,340 | $25.86 |
Pay spreads out a lot in Kentucky. The bottom tenth earn $14.65 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $36.41 or more, a gap of 2.5 times against 2.2 nationally. Where a handyman sits on that range matters as much as the state.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $2.35 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $0.70 less than the national top tenth.
The average wage, $24.20, sits 8% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical handyman makes.
How Kentucky compares with other states
Over a full year, the Kentucky median of $46,810 is $2,780 less than the national $49,590.
In the state ranking, Kentucky sits 42nd, between Montana ($22.54) and Texas ($22.44). The range runs from $18.70 in West Virginia to $29.00 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, Kentucky is in the middle: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia pay more, and West Virginia pays less.
BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs. Lower pay often comes with lower housing costs, so the gap in take-home value can be smaller than the gap in wages.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Kentucky |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | $22.50 | $46,810 | |
| Illinois | $27.27 | $56,720 | +$4.77 an hour |
| Indiana | $23.99 | $49,890 | +$1.49 an hour |
| Missouri | $23.26 | $48,370 | +$0.76 an hour |
| Ohio | $25.68 | $53,420 | +$3.18 an hour |
| Tennessee | $22.71 | $47,240 | +$0.21 an hour |
| Virginia | $23.79 | $49,470 | +$1.29 an hour |
| West Virginia | $18.70 | $38,890 | −$3.80 an hour |
How many handymen work in Kentucky
About 22,190 handymen work on payrolls in Kentucky, 1.5% of the 1,529,700 nationwide, the 24th largest count among the states.
That is 11.1 of every 1,000 jobs in Kentucky, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a handyman business in Kentucky should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is a handyman business in Kentucky paying the state median of $22.50, on the labor rate calculator's 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 | $22.50 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $50,380 |
| Break-even rate | ($50,380 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $93.59 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $93.59 ÷ 0.85 | $110.10 |
That is $110.10 per billable hour, 4.9 times the wage, and $2.35 less than the $112.46 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $29.25 in Kentucky, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $121.96.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $17.89, the rate only drops to $102.01.
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 a handyman in Kentucky
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how handyman businesses 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 49-9071, maintenance and repair workers, general, 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: handyman salary by state.