Civil Engineer Salary in Kentucky (2026)

Worth knowing: The Brent Spence Bridge replacement project (the I-71/I-75 Ohio River bridge connecting Cincinnati OH and Covington KY) is among the country's most significant US infrastructure mega-projects and a feature most national civil engineering surveys understate for KY. Brent Spence Bridge replacement (~$3.6B project funded post-2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law + IIJA, the largest active US infrastructure project in the Ohio Valley region as of 2025+, expected groundbreaking 2025 + completion ~2030, replacing the existing 1963 functionally-obsolete Brent Spence Bridge with new dual-span Ohio River crossing) supports substantial KY + OH civil engineering work for senior PEs + transportation + structural engineers + construction managers at $115-185K+ TC. Kentucky's substantial karst geology (the Bluegrass region operates over substantial cave + sinkhole + underground river systems including Mammoth Cave National Park, the country's longest cave system) creates distinctive geotechnical engineering work. KY coal mining legacy + ongoing reclamation work creates substantial KY environmental + geotechnical practice. UPS Worldport Louisville + Toyota TMMK + Ford Louisville facility expansion support substantial commercial construction PM. KY's flat 4% rate is substantially lower than OR/MN's 9.85-9.9% tops + KY Local Occupational Tax (Louisville 1.45-2.20%, Lexington 2.25%) adds local layer. KY is RTW since 2017.