SalaryExplorer

SOC 21-1099 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other — Lexington

Lexington-Fayette, KY · 1 metro areas compared

$61,160 /year
$29.40per hour
60jobs in area
+7.8%vs US median

The median wage here is $61,160 a year, within a few percent of the national median of $56,730.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $56,73010TH$47,24025TH$58,150MEDIAN$61,16075TH$72,23090TH$77,810

How pay has moved

$64,775$43,085201920202021202220242025$61,160
$46,780 in 2019 to $61,160 in 2025, +30.7% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+4.6%
Openings per year
13,100
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Lexington-Fayette, KY.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage here is $61,160 a year, within a few percent of the national median of $56,730. Half of workers earn between $58,150 and $72,230. Beyond that band, the tenth percentile sits at $47,240 and the ninetieth at $77,810.

The area has 60 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.29 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Louisville/Jefferson County leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $60,290. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 223rd of 469 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Lexington-Fayette, KY · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$47,240−16.7%
25th$58,150+2.5%
Median (50th)$61,160+7.8%
75th$72,230+27.3%
90th$77,810+37.2%
Mean$62,270+9.8%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Kentucky

Median annual wage for Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Louisville/Jefferson County$60,29060

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Lexington run 7.1% below the national average, so the median of $61,160 goes as far as $65,834 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 16.0% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$61,160as reported by BLS

Local price level

92.9US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$65,834US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $61,160 a year, 7.8% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $47,240 to $77,810 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 60 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Louisville/Jefferson County, at $60,290.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other in Lexington, KY?

The median annual wage is $61,160, or $29.40 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $56,730, so pay in Lexington, KY is 7.8% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Lexington, KY earns more than $77,810 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $47,240 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Louisville/Jefferson County, at $60,290 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 60 jobs in this occupation in Lexington, KY. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.