AI / ML Engineer Salary in Kentucky (2026)
The average AI / ML Engineer in Kentucky earns around $220,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $154,818/year ($12,901/month).
Take-Home Pay Breakdown
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
Annual Take-Home Pay | $154,818 |
Monthly Take-Home Pay | $12,901 |
Biweekly Take-Home Pay | $5,955 |
Hourly Take-Home Pay based on 2,080 hrs/year | $74/hr |
Federal Tax | $41,704 |
State Tax | $8,669 |
FICA Taxes | $14,809 |
Effective Tax Rate total taxes ÷ gross salary | 29.63% |
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Read the guideAI / ML Engineer Salary Ranges in Kentucky
Not all AI / ML Engineers earn the same — not even close
Kentucky's AI/ML engineer market is anchored by Humana HQ Louisville (Medicare Advantage AI + clinical decision support + Centerwell primary care AI at Fortune 50 health insurer scale), UPS Worldport Louisville (logistics + autonomous vehicle + computer vision package sorting AI), Toyota Manufacturing Kentucky Georgetown (manufacturing + quality + autonomous AGV AI), Ford Louisville Assembly + KTP (assembly AI), GE Appliances Louisville (connected appliance + smart home AI), UK Markey Cancer Center + UofL Brown Cancer Center clinical AI, plus University of Kentucky engineering AI research.
Principal ML Engineer / Director
$235,000–$405,000+ TC
Humana Director · UPS Principal · Toyota Director · senior IC + leadership
Senior ML Engineer (Healthcare AI)
$150,000–$225,000
Humana Medicare Advantage AI · clinical decision support + STARS optimization + claims fraud
Senior ML Engineer (Logistics AI)
$140,000–$215,000
UPS Worldport · Amazon Air CVG · package sorting CV + autonomous + route optimization
Senior ML Engineer (Automotive AI)
$140,000–$210,000
Toyota Georgetown · Ford Louisville · manufacturing AI + quality + autonomous AGV
Senior ML Engineer (Cancer Research)
$135,000–$200,000
UK Markey Cancer · UofL Brown Cancer · NCI-designated · clinical + genomics + imaging AI
Senior ML Engineer (IoT / Consumer)
$125,000–$190,000
GE Appliances connected appliance + smart home AI · Haier-owned IoT specialty
Senior Research Scientist (UK / UofL)
$118,000–$185,000
UK College of Engineering + UofL Speed · academic ML · publication track
ML Platform / MLOps Engineer
$125,000–$190,000
Humana + UPS + Toyota MLOps platforms · model deployment + monitoring + governance specialty
Mid-Level ML Engineer (3-6 yrs)
$105,000–$148,000
Functional ML IC at KY Fortune 500 · transitioning to senior band
Junior ML Engineer (0-3 yrs)
$80,000–$115,000
UK CS + UofL CS + Centre + WKU pipeline · entry band
Worth knowing: Humana's AI investments include substantial in-house clinical AI development plus partnerships with major cloud + AI vendors — and the lever is a feature most national ML surveys understate for KY. Humana Healthcare AI (Fortune 50 health insurer, ~$106B revenue, country's #1 Medicare Advantage insurer with ~8.5M MA members) operates substantial Medicare Advantage AI across STARS rating optimization + clinical decision support + risk adjustment AI + claims fraud detection + Humana Centerwell primary care AI + Humana Pharmacy AI — substantial healthcare AI at Fortune 50 scale. Senior Humana ML engineers clear $150-225K TC. UPS Worldport Louisville operates substantial logistics + computer vision AI supporting the country's largest air cargo hub — automated package sorting (Worldport's automation handles ~115 packages/second peak), routing optimization, and substantial autonomous vehicle development through UPS Flight Forward + UPS truck autonomous program. Toyota Manufacturing Kentucky Georgetown operates substantial Toyota Production System AI + manufacturing quality + autonomous AGV development. UK Markey Cancer Center (one of 73 NCI-designated cancer centers + only NCI center in KY alongside UofL Brown) anchors clinical AI. KY's flat 4% rate is substantially lower than OR/MN's 9.85-9.9% tops.
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More on Kentucky
Salaries by profession, top-paying roles by industry, and an economic breakdown for Kentucky in 2026.
Tax brackets, standard deductions, and take-home estimates for Kentucky in 2026.
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