Materials Engineers Salary — Louisville, Kentucky

The average Materials Engineers in Louisville, Kentucky earns $101,650 a year.

$101,650 / year, mean
↓ 17.0% below national average 100th percentile in Kentucky

Louisville sits at the very top of the range for this role in Kentucky — among the highest-paying cities in the state for this occupation. That's noticeably below the national average for materials engineers, worth factoring into any relocation math. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within Kentucky

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
40
Estimate confidence
RSE 2.1%
Cost of living 93 #124 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 1461 #33 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $283,232 #114 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $71,737 #95 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Louisville ranks #124 for cost of living and #114 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Jose $156,740 Seattle $153,780 Houston $138,820 New York $137,070 Bakersfield $135,510 San Francisco $133,770 Baltimore $133,370 Albany $132,170 Orlando $129,760 Los Angeles $127,780 Portland $127,250 Philadelphia $126,850 Dallas $126,630 Palm Bay $123,420 Sacramento $122,450 Oxnard $120,320 Virginia Beach $118,940 San Diego $117,680 Jacksonville $114,460 Richmond $113,740 Allentown $113,520 Buffalo $113,270 Indianapolis $112,680 Tampa $109,050 Chicago $108,990 Miami $107,670 Austin $107,130 Reading $107,120 Trenton $106,210 Ann Arbor $105,400 Fort Wayne $105,260 Riverside $104,740 Louisville $101,650 Pittsburgh $101,550 Detroit $101,540 San Antonio $100,420 Harrisburg $96,300 Grand Rapids $93,020 Lafayette $92,310 Lancaster $89,270 Utica $82,560
CityMean salaryvs. Louisville
Albany, New York$132,170+30.0%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$113,520+11.7%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$105,400+3.7%
Austin, Texas$107,130+5.4%
Bakersfield, California$135,510+33.3%
Baltimore, Maryland$133,370+31.2%
Buffalo, New York$113,270+11.4%
Chicago, Illinois$108,990+7.2%
Dallas, Texas$126,630+24.6%
Detroit, Michigan$101,540-0.1%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$105,260+3.6%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$93,020-8.5%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$96,300-5.3%
Houston, Texas$138,820+36.6%
Indianapolis, Indiana$112,680+10.9%
Jacksonville, Florida$114,460+12.6%
Lafayette, Indiana$92,310-9.2%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$89,270-12.2%
Los Angeles, California$127,780+25.7%
Miami, Florida$107,670+5.9%
New York, New York$137,070+34.8%
Orlando, Florida$129,760+27.7%
Oxnard, California$120,320+18.4%
Palm Bay, Florida$123,420+21.4%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$126,850+24.8%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$101,550-0.1%
Portland, Oregon$127,250+25.2%
Reading, Pennsylvania$107,120+5.4%
Richmond, Virginia$113,740+11.9%
Riverside, California$104,740+3.0%
Sacramento, California$122,450+20.5%
San Antonio, Texas$100,420-1.2%
San Diego, California$117,680+15.8%
San Francisco, California$133,770+31.6%
San Jose, California$156,740+54.2%
Seattle, Washington$153,780+51.3%
Tampa, Florida$109,050+7.3%
Trenton, New Jersey$106,210+4.5%
Utica, New York$82,560-18.8%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$118,940+17.0%

This metro area spans more than one state — where you actually pay income tax depends on where you work, not just where BLS assigns the area. Choose your work state:

Gross salary
101,650/yr
Estimated take-home
74,664/yr
Est. total withheld
26.5%

Single filer, federal + state tax (where the selected state levies one) + FICA, 2026 rates, for whichever state you select above. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional.

View cost of living in this state All Materials Engineers salaries in Kentucky → All Materials Engineers salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 17-2131 SOC code
Official area Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 31140 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: ky_dor_verificado 2026
Metro also includes
Jefferson County
Multi-state area: KY;IN
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Kentucky

Population (metro area)
1,361,847