Tech

Data Scientist Salary in Kentucky (2026)

The average Data Scientist in Kentucky earns around $145,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $104,704/year ($8,725/month).

Take-Home Pay Breakdown

CategoryAmount
Annual Take-Home Pay
$104,704
Monthly Take-Home Pay
$8,725
Biweekly Take-Home Pay
$4,027
Hourly Take-Home Pay

based on 2,080 hrs/year

$50/hr
Federal Tax
$23,534
State Tax
$5,669
FICA Taxes
$11,093
Effective Tax Rate

total taxes ÷ gross salary

27.79%
Estimates only — not tax advice. · Full disclaimer →

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Data Scientist Salary Ranges in Kentucky

Entry Level (0–3 yrs)

$115,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Mid Level (3–7 yrs)

$145,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Senior Level (7+ yrs)

$210,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Not all Data Scientists earn the same — not even close

Kentucky's data scientist market is anchored by Humana HQ Louisville (~13K Louisville employees with substantial Medicare Advantage + claims fraud + risk adjustment + clinical outcomes ML at the country's #1 Medicare Advantage insurer), UPS Worldport Louisville (substantial logistics + delivery optimization + customer behavior ML), Toyota Manufacturing Kentucky Georgetown (manufacturing analytics + quality + Toyota Production System ML), Ford Louisville Assembly + KTP manufacturing analytics, Brown-Forman Louisville (spirits + consumer behavior ML), GE Appliances Louisville (IoT + connected appliance ML), plus UK HealthCare + UofL Health clinical research ML.

Principal Data Scientist / Director

$215,000–$365,000+ TC

Humana Director · UPS Principal · Toyota Director · senior IC + leadership

Senior Data Scientist (Medicare Advantage)

$140,000–$215,000

Humana · Anthem KY · Medicare Advantage risk adjustment + claims fraud + clinical outcomes ML

Senior Data Scientist (Logistics)

$130,000–$200,000

UPS Worldport · Amazon Air CVG · DHL · delivery optimization + capacity planning ML

Senior Data Scientist (Automotive Manufacturing)

$130,000–$200,000

Toyota Georgetown · Ford Louisville · manufacturing analytics + yield + quality ML

Senior Data Scientist (Healthcare)

$118,000–$180,000

UK HealthCare + UofL Health + Norton + Baptist Health · clinical + claims + research ML

Senior Data Scientist (Consumer / Spirits)

$118,000–$180,000

Brown-Forman · Yum! Brands · Beam Suntory · consumer behavior + supply chain + demand ML

Senior Research Scientist (UK / UofL)

$115,000–$185,000

UK Markey Cancer Center · UofL Brown Cancer Center · academic ML · publication track

Mid-Level Data Scientist (3-6 yrs)

$90,000–$135,000

Functional DS at KY Fortune 500 · transitioning to senior band

Junior Data Scientist (0-3 yrs)

$70,000–$102,000

UK Statistics + UofL Data Science + Centre College pipeline · entry band

Senior Data Scientist (Banking)

$125,000–$190,000

Fifth Third Bank · PNC Bank KY · BB&T legacy · Truist · banking analytics + fraud ML

Worth knowing: Humana's data science organization is the country's largest single-state Medicare Advantage analytics environment and a feature most national DS surveys understate for KY. Humana (~13K Louisville HQ + ~$106B revenue, the country's #1 Medicare Advantage insurer with ~8.5M MA members) operates substantial Medicare Advantage data science including STARS rating optimization + clinical outcomes + risk adjustment + claims fraud detection + Centerwell primary care analytics + Humana Pharmacy analytics — Humana's MA STARS optimization data science is particularly sophisticated given MA STARS ratings directly drive billions in CMS quality bonus payments. Senior Humana DS clear $140-215K TC. UPS Worldport Louisville operates substantial logistics data science supporting the country's largest air cargo hub — package volume forecasting + capacity planning + route optimization + customs processing across ~5M+ packages daily at Worldport peak. Toyota Manufacturing Kentucky Georgetown (Toyota's largest NA plant) operates manufacturing analytics supporting Toyota Production System + quality + yield ML. UK Markey Cancer Center + UofL Brown Cancer Center are the two NCI-designated cancer centers in KY supporting clinical AI + cancer research. KY's flat 4% rate is substantially lower than OR/MN's 9.85-9.9% tops — supporting senior DS retention vs coastal metros. KY's Local Occupational Tax (Louisville 1.45-2.20% + Lexington 2.25%) adds modest local layer.

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