South Western Kentucky Survey and Research Shows Strong Wages & More Value for Your Dollar in the SWK

01/24/2022

The South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council is pleased to release the summary findings of our wage and skill survey conducted with regional manufacturers and industries.  With competitive regional wages, it’s clear that South Western Kentucky provides an outstanding quality of life at a comparatively low cost of living.

Highlights include:

• 18 regional industries participated in the survey.

• Regional entry level positions range from $15.92+ per hour for operators/ production/ warehouse employees to over $22 per hour for maintenance.  

• Regional industrial salaries top-out at $20-$30 per hour based on job classification and experience.

• SWK industries are offering competitive benefits packages and sign-on bonuses.

• SWK industries primarily advertise open positions on social media, job boards, website, and radio.

• SWK industries are interested in participating in job fairs, workforce programs, and with regional high schools.

SWK EDC Associate Director Tony Prim commented, “We’re thankful to the eighteen industries that took time to complete our wage and skill survey.  This invaluable information will allow us to better serve our existing industries and to partner with our regional workforce and education partners to ensure we continue to deliver a strong workforce for our industrial partners.  We remind our regional residents to follow the SWK EDC on our Facebook pages and website as we routinely share job information as provided by our regional employers.”

With no sales tax on groceries, property taxes among the lowest in the nation, housing prices 23% below the national average and cost of living 13% below the national average, South Western Kentucky’s industrial workforce is earning wages that provide an incredible quality of life.  According to Statista, an employee has to earn only $15.78 in Kentucky to comfortably afford housing as compared to $17.59 in Tennessee.   An employee has to earn over 10% more in Tennessee to enjoy the housing in Kentucky.

SWK EDC Executive Director Carter Hendricks stated, “With our low taxes and cost of living combined with strong wages, our region is the perfect choice to start your new career opportunity or start your next business/industry and take advantage of our less taxing, more relaxing way of life.”

For questions regarding this release, information about our sites and region or the SWK EDC, please contact Carter Hendricks, at 270-885-1499.