Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $76K, rent takes 22.7% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,110/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders typically earn — is $52K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,128/month. At HUD’s $1,110/month FMR, rent would take 35% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 57% above the national median — $76K here vs. $48K nationally.

Kentucky pays $76K median vs. the U.S. average of $48K — that’s +57%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 90.23), the purchasing-power equivalent is $84K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $75,620 a year, that works out to about $36 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $52,140, and experienced furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders can clear $83,270. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,880/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,110/month, which eats 22.7% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Kentucky has a Regional Price Parity of 90.23 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders salary is worth about $83,808 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.