What jobs pay in Paducah, KY-IL

What the all-jobs median says about Paducah, KY-IL

The May 2025 BLS OEWS estimate puts the all-occupations median in Paducah, KY-IL at $45,860 per year. This is the middle wage across covered wage and salary jobs in the area. It is not the median for each job title. It is not one worker's pay. Use an occupation page when you need a role-level answer.

BLS lists 50,270 covered jobs in Paducah, KY-IL. The all-occupations mean is $58,060 per year. Mean means add the wage values and split the total by the number of jobs behind the estimate. The median and mean can differ because the local wage mix is not even.

Paducah, KY-IL's $45,860 all-occupations median is 10.0% below the U.S. all-occupations median of $50,980 on the same published median. This is a wage check on the same source period. It does not add local price levels, taxes, hours, benefits, or household needs.

Where Paducah, KY-IL sits among metro areas

Paducah, KY-IL ranks 278 of 393 among metro areas with a published annual all-occupations median. WageScope keeps the map type the same. It does not place a state, metro, and nonmetro row in one rank. The rank uses the May 2025 BLS median only.

A rank is a place in a sorted list. It is not a score. It does not say a place is good or bad. It does not show the size of the job base. Paducah, KY-IL has 50,270 covered jobs, while another row near it can have a very different count.

The nearby rank rows give context without turning the list into a league table. Small gaps can move a place by several spots. A later BLS release can also change the order. Read the wage gap and the source date beside the rank. Do not use rank alone to make a move.

• 275. Gainesville, GA has an all-occupations median of $45,900 per year and 103,870 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Paducah, KY-IL is $40.
• 276. Manhattan, KS has an all-occupations median of $45,900 per year and 53,500 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Paducah, KY-IL is $40.
• 277. Flint, MI has an all-occupations median of $45,880 per year and 135,040 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Paducah, KY-IL is $20.
• 279. Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH has an all-occupations median of $45,840 per year and 36,220 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Paducah, KY-IL is $20.
• 280. Charleston, WV has an all-occupations median of $45,830 per year and 103,450 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Paducah, KY-IL is $30.
• 281. Kankakee, IL has an all-occupations median of $45,830 per year and 42,340 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Paducah, KY-IL is $30.

The largest detailed occupations shown for Paducah, KY-IL

The role list is sorted by the BLS employment estimate. It shows detailed occupations from the bounded source table for Paducah, KY-IL. The first row, Retail Salespersons, has 1,800 estimated jobs. Its median is $28,390 per year.

Large roles shape the all-occupations wage mix, but they do not set it by themselves. A role with many jobs and a lower wage can pull the middle one way. A smaller role with a higher wage can move the mean. The all-occupations row is based on the whole covered job mix, not just the occupations shown in this bounded list.

Employment here means wage and salary jobs in the BLS survey scope. It does not mean people looking for work. It does not mean openings. It does not show how fast a role is changing. Use the current job cards only to inspect dated employer-title matches. Keep that view apart from this May 2025 job count.

• 1. Retail Salespersons has 1,800 estimated jobs in Paducah, KY-IL. Its published median is $28,390 per year. Its location quotient is 1.43.
• 2. Registered Nurses has 1,720 estimated jobs in Paducah, KY-IL. Its published median is $79,920 per year. Its location quotient is 1.57.
• 3. General and Operations Managers has 1,440 estimated jobs in Paducah, KY-IL. Its published median is $75,470 per year. Its location quotient is 1.27.
• 4. Cashiers has 1,400 estimated jobs in Paducah, KY-IL. Its published median is $28,550 per year. Its location quotient is 1.4.
• 5. Fast Food and Counter Workers has 1,160 estimated jobs in Paducah, KY-IL. Its published median is $27,640 per year. Its location quotient is 0.93.
• 6. Sailors and Marine Oilers has 1,070 estimated jobs in Paducah, KY-IL. Its published median is $47,550 per year. Its location quotient is 104.67.
• 7. Waiters and Waitresses has 1,010 estimated jobs in Paducah, KY-IL. Its published median is $29,280 per year. Its location quotient is 1.37.
• 8. Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand has 940 estimated jobs in Paducah, KY-IL. Its published median is $38,110 per year. Its location quotient is 0.99.

How published medians differ inside Paducah, KY-IL

The detailed roles shown for Paducah, KY-IL do not share one pay level. Registered Nurses has the highest published median in this bounded role set, at $79,920 per year. That does not make it the highest-paid role in every job or in every part of the area.

The list keeps each official SOC title tied to its own wage row. It does not blend fields, levels, or job posts. A role median can be above the $45,860 all-occupations median even when the role has few jobs. A large role can sit below that mark. Pay and job count answer different questions.

Use a role's own WageScope page before you compare places. That page shows the national spread, the same SOC code across areas, and the source limits. The area list is a starting map. It is not enough to set a pay target for one person or one listing.

• 1. Registered Nurses has a published median of $79,920 per year in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 1,720 jobs. Its local share is 1.57 times the national share.
• 2. General and Operations Managers has a published median of $75,470 per year in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 1,440 jobs. Its local share is 1.27 times the national share.
• 3. Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators has a published median of $59,000 per year in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 460 jobs. Its local share is 2.98 times the national share.
• 4. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has a published median of $57,510 per year in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 440 jobs. Its local share is 0.95 times the national share.
• 5. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers has a published median of $50,520 per year in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 660 jobs. Its local share is 0.99 times the national share.
• 6. Sailors and Marine Oilers has a published median of $47,550 per year in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 1,070 jobs. Its local share is 104.67 times the national share.
• 7. Construction Laborers has a published median of $46,850 per year in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 590 jobs. Its local share is 1.68 times the national share.
• 8. Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks has a published median of $46,310 per year in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 610 jobs. Its local share is 1.36 times the national share.

Roles with a larger local share in Paducah, KY-IL

Location quotient compares a role's share of jobs in Paducah, KY-IL with that role's share across the nation. A value of 1 means the shares match. A value above 1 means the role takes a larger share of local jobs. A value below 1 means the share is smaller. The value does not show growth or open jobs.

Sailors and Marine Oilers has the highest published location quotient in this bounded set, at 104.67. The same row has 1,070 jobs and a median of $47,550 per year. Read all three fields together.

A high share can appear in a small job base. A large job count can appear with a share near 1. A high median can appear in either case. The three measures are not a single score. They help you ask three clear questions: how many jobs, how common the role is in the local mix, and what wage BLS published.

• 1. Sailors and Marine Oilers has a location quotient of 104.67 in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 1,070 jobs and a median of $47,550 per year.
• 2. Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels has a location quotient of 58.5 in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 700 jobs and a median of Not published.
• 3. Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria has a location quotient of 3.07 in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 440 jobs and a median of $35,310 per year.
• 4. Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators has a location quotient of 2.98 in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 460 jobs and a median of $59,000 per year.
• 5. Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants has a location quotient of 2.6 in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 810 jobs and a median of $38,340 per year.
• 6. Light Truck Drivers has a location quotient of 1.7 in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 540 jobs and a median of $41,720 per year.
• 7. Medical Assistants has a location quotient of 1.69 in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 450 jobs and a median of $39,360 per year.
• 8. Construction Laborers has a location quotient of 1.68 in Paducah, KY-IL. BLS lists 590 jobs and a median of $46,850 per year.

What the BEA price level adds for Paducah, KY-IL

BEA's 2024 all-items price index for Paducah, KY-IL is 86.1. The U.S. level is 100. The local all-items level is 13.9% below that mark. This is a broad price comparison. It is not a personal budget.

The housing index is 48.8. The goods index is 96.0. Utilities are 76.9. Other services are 96.9. These parts can move in different ways. The all-items number joins them with BEA's method; WageScope does not pick its own weights.

The BLS wage period is May 2025. The BEA price period is 2024. WageScope shows both source dates. To adjust pay, first divide the all-items price index by 100. Then divide pay by that result. This gives a national-price-dollar proxy. It does not call that result take-home pay, spending power for one home, or a place score.

How to read survey limits for Paducah, KY-IL

The all-occupations employment RSE for Paducah, KY-IL is 0%. The mean-wage RSE is 0.6%. RSE means relative standard error. It is a survey precision flag. A smaller value often means less sampling uncertainty. It is not an error bar for one person's wage.

The employment RSE belongs to the 50,270 job estimate. The mean-wage RSE belongs to the all-occupations mean. WageScope does not attach either field to a detailed role, the median, or a percentile. Each role has its own survey error fields when BLS shares them.

Some BLS values are blank or top coded. Blank does not mean zero. A top code means the value is at least the shown bound. WageScope keeps those states in the role pages and tables. It does not fill a missing value from a peer role, past year, or nearby place.

Use Paducah, KY-IL as a map, then choose one occupation

Start with the role that matches the work you mean. Official titles can sound broad. Open the role page and check its SOC code. Then compare the Paducah, KY-IL row with the U.S. row on the same annual or hourly metric. Read the job count and location quotient beside the wage. Add the BEA price level only when the exact row is present.

Next, look at the wage spread. The median shows the middle. The 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles show more of the range. A posted job range can be compared with those marks as context, but it stays employer evidence. It never becomes part of the BLS estimate.

If the role-place row is missing, use the national role page or choose another official area. Do not guess. A clean missing state is more useful than a made-up number. It tells you what the source can and cannot answer.

Move from Paducah, KY-IL wage data to one checked job

The area page does not treat every local job as the same. Choose an occupation first. WageScope can then use a strict employer-title match for that role. A place filter is used only when the BLS area has an exact approved match in the public place list. If that match is not safe, the page says so.

Each shown job keeps the employer, place, source, and seen date. The cards can change as the public catalog changes. They do not count toward this page's stable content gate. They do not change Paducah, KY-IL's $45,860 all-occupations median. They do not prove that the employer uses the BLS title.

Open a listing before you tailor. Use facts from your own work that you can support. A wage value is not a skill, result, or duty. MeritLog can help shape confirmed work for the listing you chose. The public area page does not save the role, listing, place, or résumé on load.

What this Paducah, KY-IL page does not say

The page does not say what one person in Paducah, KY-IL earns. It does not promise a wage, job, move, or result. It does not call the all-occupations median a role wage. It does not turn rank 278 of 393 into a place score. It does not say why wages differ.

The BLS job count leaves out people who work for themselves and other work outside the survey scope. The current job cards are a separate set of public listings. Neither source shows all work. Neither source tells you the chance of getting hired. A missing value stays missing.

Use the page for a narrow task. See the May 2025 local wage picture. Choose one official occupation. Compare the same field across like places. Add the separate 2024 price level when it exists. Read a current employer-title match. Then make a résumé choice from work facts you have confirmed.