Social Science Research Assistants Salary — Lexington, Kentucky

The average Social Science Research Assistants in Lexington, Kentucky earns $56,210 a year.

$56,210 / year, mean
↓ 16.8% below national average 33th percentile in Kentucky

Lexington pays below most of Kentucky for this role, though still within a normal range for the state. That's noticeably below the national average for social science research assistants, 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)
370
Estimate confidence
RSE 1.6%
Cost of living 93 #127 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 $327,671 #90 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $70,717 #103 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Lexington ranks #127 for cost of living and #90 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.

Bowling Green $88,200 San Francisco $86,880 San Jose $80,080 Dallas $79,650 Louisville $79,230 San Antonio $75,280 San Diego $72,190 New York $71,420 Detroit $70,060 Baltimore $69,840 Chicago $68,370 Indianapolis $66,560 Trenton $65,440 Portland $65,370 Austin $64,130 Los Angeles $63,990 Philadelphia $63,190 Sacramento $63,150 Lansing $60,820 Houston $59,940 Miami $59,330 Harrisburg $58,920 Charlottesville $58,660 Richmond $58,490 Seattle $57,730 Virginia Beach $56,620 Pittsburgh $56,390 Lexington $56,210 Eugene $56,050 Deltona $55,280 Riverside $53,230 Tampa $51,990 Ann Arbor $51,060 Albany $49,940 Orlando $42,870 Chico $41,790
CityMean salaryvs. Lexington
Albany, New York$49,940-11.2%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$51,060-9.2%
Austin, Texas$64,130+14.1%
Baltimore, Maryland$69,840+24.2%
Bowling Green, Kentucky$88,200+56.9%
Charlottesville, Virginia$58,660+4.4%
Chicago, Illinois$68,370+21.6%
Chico, California$41,790-25.7%
Dallas, Texas$79,650+41.7%
Deltona, Florida$55,280-1.7%
Detroit, Michigan$70,060+24.6%
Eugene, Oregon$56,050-0.3%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$58,920+4.8%
Houston, Texas$59,940+6.6%
Indianapolis, Indiana$66,560+18.4%
Lansing, Michigan$60,820+8.2%
Los Angeles, California$63,990+13.8%
Louisville, Kentucky$79,230+41.0%
Miami, Florida$59,330+5.6%
New York, New York$71,420+27.1%
Orlando, Florida$42,870-23.7%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$63,190+12.4%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$56,390+0.3%
Portland, Oregon$65,370+16.3%
Richmond, Virginia$58,490+4.1%
Riverside, California$53,230-5.3%
Sacramento, California$63,150+12.3%
San Antonio, Texas$75,280+33.9%
San Diego, California$72,190+28.4%
San Francisco, California$86,880+54.6%
San Jose, California$80,080+42.5%
Seattle, Washington$57,730+2.7%
Tampa, Florida$51,990-7.5%
Trenton, New Jersey$65,440+16.4%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$56,620+0.7%
Gross salary
56,210/yr
Estimated take-home
43,949/yr
Est. total withheld
21.8%

Single filer, federal + Kentucky state tax + FICA, 2026 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Social Science Research Assistants salaries in Kentucky → All Social Science Research Assistants salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

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

Occupation 19-4061 SOC code
Official area Lexington-Fayette, KY BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 30460 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: ky_dor_verificado 2026
Metro also includes
Fayette
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
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)
517,378