- The middle half earn between $22.11 and $29.11 an hour.
- Kentucky ranks 25th of the 48 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Kentucky pays more than 4 of its 7 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 120 locksmiths on payrolls in Kentucky.
- At the state median wage, a locksmith business needs to bill about $113.75 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Locksmith pay in Kentucky, bottom to top
BLS files these as locksmiths and safe repairers: the people who open and repair locks, make keys, change locks and combinations, and install and repair safes.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $19.43 | $40,410 | $17.08 |
| 25th percentile | $22.11 | $45,980 | $20.75 |
| Median | $24.58 | $51,120 | $24.68 |
| 75th percentile | $29.11 | $60,540 | $31.04 |
| 90th percentile | $31.28 | $65,060 | $38.17 |
| Average (mean) | $25.46 | $52,950 | $26.67 |
Pay is bunched up in Kentucky. The top tenth earn $31.28 an hour or more, about 1.6 times the $19.43 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.2 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
The floor is higher than nationally ($19.43 against $17.08) but the ceiling is lower ($31.28 against $38.17), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $25.46, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Kentucky compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $51,120 in Kentucky against $51,320 nationally, $200 less.
In the state ranking, Kentucky sits 25th, between Pennsylvania ($25.08) and Oregon ($24.25). The range runs from $17.20 in Arkansas to $36.89 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, Kentucky is in the middle: Illinois, Virginia and West Virginia pay more, and Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Kentucky |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | $24.58 | $51,120 | |
| Illinois | $27.94 | $58,110 | +$3.36 an hour |
| Indiana | $22.91 | $47,640 | −$1.67 an hour |
| Missouri | $24.11 | $50,140 | −$0.47 an hour |
| Ohio | $22.96 | $47,760 | −$1.62 an hour |
| Tennessee | $24.16 | $50,250 | −$0.42 an hour |
| Virginia | $25.76 | $53,590 | +$1.18 an hour |
| West Virginia | $27.25 | $56,690 | +$2.67 an hour |
How many locksmiths work in Kentucky
About 120 locksmiths work on payrolls in Kentucky, 0.8% of the 15,040 nationwide, the 35th 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, 0.63 times the national share.
What a locksmith business in Kentucky should charge
Say you run a locksmith business in Kentucky and pay the state median of $24.58 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 | $24.58 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $55,038 |
| Break-even rate | ($55,038 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $96.69 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $96.69 ÷ 0.85 | $113.75 |
That is $113.75 per billable hour, 4.6 times the wage, and almost the same as the $113.93 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $29.11 in Kentucky, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $121.71.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.11, the rate only drops to $109.42.
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 locksmith in Kentucky
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how locksmiths 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 49-9094, locksmiths and safe 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: locksmith salary by state.