What Stockers and Order Fillers earn in McCreary County, KY
According to the latest federal wage data for the South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area, the median pay for Stockers and Order Fillers in McCreary County, KY is $35,710 a year, or $17.17 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $29,524 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for McCreary County, KY.
The mean wage is $39,770, which is 11.4% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 5,390 people working in this occupation across the South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. McCreary County, KY has roughly 16,867 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Stockers and Order Fillers in the South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $28,530 a year ($13.72 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $60,570 or more ($29.12 an hour). That is a gap of $32,040 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $30,910 at the 25th percentile and $46,180 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.1 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $17.17 an hour or $35,710 a year at the median for McCreary County, KY. Before any deductions, that is $2,976 a month, $1,373 every two weeks and $687 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.19 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Stockers and Order Fillers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Stockers and Order Fillers this way: "Receive, store, and issue merchandise, materials, equipment, and other items from stockroom, warehouse, or storage yard to fill shelves, racks, tables, or customers' orders. May operate power equipment to fill orders. May mark prices on merchandise and set up sales displays."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Complete order receipts"; "Obtain merchandise from bins or shelves"; "Read orders to ascertain catalog numbers, sizes, colors, and quantities of merchandise"; "Pack and unpack items to be stocked on shelves in stockrooms, warehouses, or storage yards".
Job outlook for Stockers and Order Fillers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 2,804,300 jobs in 2025 to 3,055,000 in 2035, a change of +8.9%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 430,700 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 15.4% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $37,330 for this occupation; the McCreary County, KY median of $35,710 is 4.3% below it.
How pay in McCreary County, KY compares
Compared with the Kentucky average
Pay in McCreary County, KY runs $880 below the Kentucky average of $36,590, a gap of 2.4%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of Kentucky would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within Kentucky, the highest median we track for this job is $37,810 in Kenton County, KY.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Stockers and Order Fillers is $37,561 across the contiguous United States. At $35,710, McCreary County, KY pays $1,851 less, which is 4.9% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in McCreary County, KY
Among the 339 occupations with published wages in McCreary County, KY, Stockers and Order Fillers ranks number 277 by median pay, ahead of about 18% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators at $39,690 a year, which is $3,980 more than the median for Stockers and Order Fillers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Stockers and Order Fillers earning the McCreary County, KY median of $35,710, they add up to $6,186. The result is $29,524 of take-home pay a year ($2,460 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $17 goes to taxes and $83 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 17.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $19,960. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,157, an effective 6.0% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,214 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $518. FICA totals $2,732, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Kentucky
Kentucky income tax on this salary is $1,298 a year, or 3.6% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 60% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $108 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for McCreary County, KY
IRS Statistics of Income data for McCreary County, KY show an average adjusted gross income of $45,098 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 7.3% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 3.9%, compared with the 6.0% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in McCreary County, KY
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in McCreary County, KY: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $29,524 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For McCreary County, KY, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $835 a month ($10,020 a year), and at $909 for two bedrooms. For Stockers and Order Fillers, a one-bedroom absorbs 33.9% of take-home pay and 28.1% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 9.6% of gross pay for Stockers and Order Fillers in McCreary County, KY. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Kentucky residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,351 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $524, for $1,874 in total. Gasoline in Kentucky averages $3.18 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,470.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $16,800 a year in McCreary County, KY. Subtract that from $29,524 of take-home pay and $12,724 remains, which is $1,060 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 35.6% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for McCreary County, KY
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in McCreary County, KY: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for McCreary County, KY, set beside the Kentucky and national medians.
Property taxes in McCreary County, KY
Homeowners in McCreary County, KY pay a median of $554 a year in real estate taxes, 64% below the Kentucky median of $1,544 and 82% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $85,300, the median tax bill is 0.65% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Stockers and Order Fillers median of $35,710, a tax bill of that size would equal 1.6% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in McCreary County, KY
Renters in McCreary County, KY pay a median gross rent of $577 a month in the Census survey, 40% below the Kentucky median of $967. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $835 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $85,300, 59% below the Kentucky median of $205,600. Median household income is $33,750, 47% below the Kentucky median of $63,726, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 29.7% of that income.
Commuting in McCreary County, KY
Workers in McCreary County, KY who travel to a workplace spend an average of 32.3 minutes each way, 35% above the Kentucky average of 24.0. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.4 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 9.2% of workers in McCreary County, KY work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Stockers and Order Fillers afford to live in McCreary County, KY?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $35,710 that ceiling is $893 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $835 is $58 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $16.06 an hour; the median for Stockers and Order Fillers is $17.17, which is 7% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.19 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 13.6 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $909 a month means $455 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $4,566 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $17,290.
How fast you can save
At $1,060 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 10 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 20 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Stockers and Order Fillers pay in McCreary County, KY
How much do Stockers and Order Fillers make per hour in McCreary County, KY?
The median is $17.17 per hour, based on $35,710 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $13.72 at the 10th percentile to $29.12 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Stockers and Order Fillers take home after taxes in McCreary County, KY?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $35,710 becomes $29,524 a year. That is $2,460 a month, $1,136 every two weeks or $568 a week.
How much tax do Stockers and Order Fillers pay in McCreary County, KY?
Total taxes are $6,186 a year, an effective rate of 17.3%: $2,157 federal income tax, $2,732 FICA and $1,298 Kentucky income tax.
Do Stockers and Order Fillers earn more in McCreary County, KY than elsewhere in Kentucky?
No. The local median of $35,710 is -2.4% versus the Kentucky average of $36,590, a difference of $880 a year.
Can Stockers and Order Fillers afford a one-bedroom apartment in McCreary County, KY?
A one-bedroom costs $835 a month against take-home pay of $2,460, which is 33.9% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $893 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Stockers and Order Fillers in McCreary County, KY?
About $1,060 a month ($12,724 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $16,800 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in McCreary County, KY at the 30% guideline?
$16.06 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $10,020 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Stockers and Order Fillers is $17.17.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Kentucky rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.