- The middle half earn between $17.69 and $22.54 an hour.
- Kentucky ranks 34th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Kentucky pays more than 4 of its 7 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 1,030 pest control technicians on payrolls in Kentucky.
- At the state median wage, a pest control company needs to bill about $106.31 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Pest Control Technician pay in Kentucky, bottom to top
The BLS group is pest control workers: the technicians who inspect, treat and set traps in homes and businesses.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $14.48 | $30,130 | $16.67 |
| 25th percentile | $17.69 | $36,790 | $18.00 |
| Median | $20.34 | $42,310 | $21.75 |
| 75th percentile | $22.54 | $46,890 | $23.85 |
| 90th percentile | $29.65 | $61,670 | $29.75 |
| Average (mean) | $20.92 | $43,520 | $22.31 |
Pay spreads out a lot in Kentucky. The bottom tenth earn $14.48 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $29.65 or more, a gap of 2 times against 1.8 nationally. Where a pest control technician sits on that range matters as much as the state.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $2.19 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $0.10 less than the national top tenth.
The average, $20.92, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Kentucky compares with other states
Over a full year, the Kentucky median of $42,310 is $2,940 less than the national $45,250.
In the state ranking, Kentucky sits 34th, between Missouri ($20.53) and Montana ($20.06). The range runs from $17.82 in New Mexico to $24.66 in Washington.
Against its neighboring states, Kentucky is in the middle: Illinois, Missouri and Virginia pay more, and Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia pay 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 | $20.34 | $42,310 | |
| Illinois | $22.33 | $46,450 | +$1.99 an hour |
| Indiana | $18.56 | $38,600 | −$1.78 an hour |
| Missouri | $20.53 | $42,690 | +$0.19 an hour |
| Ohio | $19.28 | $40,110 | −$1.06 an hour |
| Tennessee | $19.08 | $39,690 | −$1.26 an hour |
| Virginia | $22.09 | $45,950 | +$1.75 an hour |
| West Virginia | $18.03 | $37,510 | −$2.31 an hour |
How many pest control technicians work in Kentucky
About 1,030 pest control technicians work on payrolls in Kentucky, 1.0% of the 102,620 nationwide, the 26th largest count among the states.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.5 per 1,000 jobs, 0.78 times the national share.
What a pest control company 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 pest control company in Kentucky paying the state median of $20.34, 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 | $20.34 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $45,544 |
| Break-even rate | ($45,544 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $90.36 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $90.36 ÷ 0.85 | $106.31 |
That is $106.31 per billable hour, 5.2 times the wage, and $2.48 less than the $108.78 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $22.54 in Kentucky, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $110.17.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $17.69, the rate only drops to $101.65.
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 pest control technician in Kentucky
- Licensing. What Kentucky asks for before you can work on your own: Pest control license in Kentucky.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how pest control companies 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 37-2021, pest control workers, 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: pest control technician salary by state.