Bookkeeper salary in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area

Pay in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area against Kentucky and the US

Bookkeepers at the 90th percentile earn $62,390, 2.2 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.1. The middle half of bookkeepers in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area earns $34,860–$50,600. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $15,740 wide, against $19,160 across Kentucky and $17,950 nationally: employers in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a bookkeeper here

The step from the 25th percentile to the median is $6,500 a year; from the median to the 75th it is $9,240, or about $11,923 once benefits are added. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $50,670 falls between the 75th and 90th percentiles in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area, and the Kentucky statewide median of $46,550 falls between the median and the 75th percentile. An offer at the national rate would beat what three quarters of local bookkeepers earn.

What a hire really costs in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area

At the $41,360 median, a local hire costs about $53,368 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $12,008 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for bookkeepers we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area

Of the 17 roles we track in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area, this one ranks #11 by median pay, between payroll specialists ($45,140) and e-commerce order specialists ($38,840). Project Coordinator is the highest at $73,850.

Measured against the US median, bookkeepers rank #7 of the 17 roles we track in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area (-18.4%), between executive assistants (-17.7%) and administrative assistants (-18.7%). The typical role here is at -20.1%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Bookkeepers hold 13.1% of the jobs in these 17 roles in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area, 11.8% across Kentucky and 8.7% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Kentucky

Across the 10 areas of Kentucky with data for this job, the median runs from $41,360 in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area to $48,000 in Lexington-Fayette, a gap of $6,640 a year. All 2 areas in Kentucky with more bookkeepers than the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area also pay more, among them Louisville, KY-IN ($47,990) and Lexington-Fayette, KY ($48,000).

the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area is #114 of 521 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job, yet its pay sits in the bottom quarter of US areas. Outside Kentucky, El Paso and Brownsville-Harlingen pay just above the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area and Dothan and Gadsden just below. All four are within $550 a year of the median in the South Central Kentucky nonmetro area. Of the three markets with about as many bookkeepers, all three pay more.

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How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.