Auto mechanic salary in Kentucky
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Auto mechanics in Kentucky earn a median of $44,890 a year, or $21.58 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $73,910 a year. Nationally the median is $50,620, so Kentucky pays 11% less than the U.S. overall and ranks 48th of 51.
- Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
- $14.53/hr
- Jobs in Kentucky
- 11,140
- After cost of living
- $49,790
- Median hourly pay
- $21.58/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −11%
- Rank among states
- 48th of 51
- Mean (average) pay
- $47,990 a year · $23.07 an hour
Pay by percentile
What auto mechanics in Kentucky earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.
| Percentile | Hourly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $14.53 | $30,210 |
| 25th percentile | $17.30 | $35,980 |
| Median (50th) | $21.58 | $44,890 |
| 75th percentile | $28.84 | $59,990 |
| 90th percentile | $35.54 | $73,910 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
Pay over time
The median auto mechanic wage in Kentucky rose 21.8%, from $36,870 in May 2021 to $44,890 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it rose 2%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $36,870 | $17.73/hr |
| May 2022 | $36,000 | $17.31/hr |
| May 2023 | $38,080 | $18.31/hr |
| May 2024 | $39,940 | $19.20/hr |
| May 2025 | $44,890 | $21.58/hr |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years
How Kentucky compares
- Auto mechanics are more concentrated in Kentucky than nationally: 5.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.
Pay by metro area
Rural Kentucky
- West Kentucky$39,550
- Central Kentucky$39,020
- South Central Kentucky$37,930
- East Kentucky$37,030
Other trades in Kentucky
Bidding federal work? Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates in Kentucky list what contractors must pay auto mechanics on federal and federally assisted jobs, county by county.
Questions
- Where in Kentucky do auto mechanics earn the most?
- Among Kentucky metro areas, Clarksville has the highest median at $49,570 a year, and Huntington–Ashland the lowest at $37,240.
About this data
Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 49-3023 (Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics), area code 21. BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed auto mechanics and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (90.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures