Home Health and Personal Care Aides Salary
In Kentucky, home health and personal care aides earn $36,440 at the median, or about $17.52 an hour. The range runs from $28K at the entry level to $49K for experienced workers. Cost of living is below average (RPP 90.23), which stretches that salary to about $40,386 in buying power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,110/month, about 44.7% of take-home, which is tight.
Statewide average. Salary and cost of living vary significantly across Kentucky. Jump to a metro for precise data:
So what does $36K get you in Kentucky?
About home health and personal care aides
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What this looks like in Kentucky
Home health and personal care aides pay in Kentucky tracks closely to the national median, $36K locally vs. $36K nationwide, a 2% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,110/month, which is 44.6% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Regional Price Parity sits at 90.23 (national = 100), meaning everyday costs run about 10% cheaper here. Your dollar stretches further than the headline salary suggests. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Kentucky
Entry-level home health and personal care aides (10th percentile) start around $28K. Mid-career wages sit at $36K. Top earners bring in $49K or more, a $21K spread from bottom to top.
Home Health and Personal Care Aides salary by metro in Kentucky
6 metro areas with BLS data, ranked by median pay
| Metro area | Median salary | vs. state | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owensboro | $36K | -1% | 1,180 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County | $36K | -2% | 10,970 |
| Elizabethtown | $36K | -2% | 830 |
| Lexington-Fayette | $35K | -3% | 2,990 |
| Bowling Green | $35K | -4% | 1,150 |
| Paducah | $33K | -9% | 730 |
Compare to other states
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BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Kentucky numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a home health and personal care aide afford a 2BR apartment alone in Kentucky?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $36K, rent takes 44.6% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,110/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $700/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for home health and personal care aides in Kentucky?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new home health and personal care aides typically earn — is $28K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,687/month. At HUD’s $1,110/month FMR, rent would take 66% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is home health and personal care aide a high-paying job in Kentucky?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $36K locally vs. $36K nationally, a 2% difference.
How does Kentucky compare to the national average for home health and personal care aides?
Kentucky pays $36K median vs. the U.S. average of $36K — that’s +2%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 90.23), the purchasing-power equivalent is $40K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do home health and personal care aides make in Kentucky?
The median is $36,440 a year, that works out to about $18 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $28,110, and experienced home health and personal care aides can clear $49,080. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $36K enough to live in Kentucky?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,488/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,110/month, which eats 44.6% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a home health and personal care aides salary go in Kentucky?
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 home health and personal care aides salary is worth about $40,386 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do home health and personal care aides get paid the most?
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.