Web Developer Salary in Lexington, KY: Median $79,717 in 2026
Lexington (KY) · COL index 90 · Unemployment 3.3% · Metro pop 530,000 · Rank #198 of 283 for Web Developer salary
A Web Developer in Lexington earns an estimated median of $79,717 per year. That figure starts from the Kentucky state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($79,620) and scales it by Lexington's composite cost-of-living index of 90 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $43,113; the 90th percentile reaches $133,964. After federal, Kentucky state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Web Developer takes home approximately $61,575/year — about $5,131/month or $2,368 every other week.
Compared to the national Web Developer median of $92,750, Lexington pays -14.1%. Relative to the Lexington median household income of $61,200, a Web Developersalary runs +30.3%. Local unemployment is 3.3%[3], with an estimated 47 annual Web Developer openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (197,700).
Web Developer Snapshot — Lexington (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Lexington | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Developer median salary | $79,717 | $92,750 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $43,113 | $65,350 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $133,964 | $161,810 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $61,575 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $322,342 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,488/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,375/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $70,717 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 90.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.3% | — | [3] |
How Web Developer Salaries Work in Lexington
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Kentucky state-level OEWS median ($79,620) and scaling by Lexington's composite cost-of-living index (90)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and Kentucky state income tax at a 3.8% effective rate ($3,058/yr on the $79,717 median)[10].
Lexington also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. A tight labor market (unemployment below 4%) gives candidates pricing power in negotiations. Median household income in the metro is $70,717, which frames what "a good Web Developer salary" means locally: a $$79,717 wage pays about 113% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Lexington
Estimated annual expense shares on a $61,575 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Lexington's COL index of 90. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Lexington's COL index of 90[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $925/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Lexington
Renting
Buying
At $5,131/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,539/mo. Lexington's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,488/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,375/mo), making rent very affordable on a median Web Developer salary. For homebuyers, the 3.3× price-to-income ratio is comfortable — a median {p.title} salary supports the median home in {city.name} well inside standard lender DTI caps.
How Lexington Stacks Up for Web Developers
Against 283 major US cities: Lexington ranks #198 for nominal Web Developer salary, #40 for rent affordability, and #83 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Lexington's nominal wage premium. Web Developers here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Web Developer Salary Comparison
Lexington's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs KY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington, KY ★ | $79,717 | 90 | $925 | — |
| Louisville, KY | $80,693 | 87 | $895 | +1.2% |
| Bowling Green, KY | $78,838 | 85 | $900 | -1.1% |
| Columbus, OH | $83,475 | 90 | $1,199 | +4.7% |
| Milwaukee, WI | $83,475 | 90 | $1,195 | +4.7% |
| Huntsville, AL | $83,475 | 90 | $750 | +4.7% |
Web Developer Job Market in Lexington
Lexington has an estimated 47 annual Web Developeropenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 197,700 national Web Developers[1]. The 3.3% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
About the profession: Web developers create and maintain websites and web applications, handling front-end, back-end, or full-stack development. Many work as freelancers or contractors. Typical entry requirement: associate's degree or bachelor's degree. Projected growth through 2034: 8%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Lexington
Early-career Web Developers in Lexington start around $43,113, reach the city median ($79,717) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($133,964) at senior / specialized levels.
Related technology professions in Lexington
Calculators for Web Developers in Lexington
Other professions in Lexington
Frequently Asked Questions — Web Developer in Lexington
How much does a Web Developer make in Lexington, KY?
The estimated median salary for a Web Developer in Lexington is $79,717/year, scaled from the BLS OEWS Kentucky state median ($79,620) by Lexington's composite cost-of-living index of 90 (US = 100). After federal, Kentucky state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $61,575/year or $5,131/month.
Can a Web Developer afford to live in Lexington?
On $5,131/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,539/month. Lexington's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,488/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,375/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 13.9%, making housing very affordable for a Web Developer at the local median. Home-buyers face 3.3× price-to-income, needing roughly 3.3 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Web Developer pay in Lexington?
On $79,717 gross, a Web Developer in Lexington pays approximately $8,986 in federal income tax (11.3% effective), $3,058 in Kentucky state income tax (3.8% effective), and $6,098 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 22.8%. Some Kentucky cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Lexington rank for Web Developer salaries vs other cities?
Lexington ranks #198 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Web Developer salary, #40 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #83 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Web Developer in Lexington?
On $61,575 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Lexington looks like: housing $11,100/yr (18.0%); food $6,946/yr; transportation $5,911/yr; healthcare $4,181/yr; utilities $2,925/yr; savings + discretionary $30,512/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Lexington's COL index of 90 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Web Developer job market like in Lexington?
Lexington's unemployment rate is 3.3% across the metro of 530,000. Estimated annual Web Developer openings: ~47 (extrapolated from 197,700 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Lexington employers pay above or below the Kentucky median for Web Developers?
Not consistently — Lexington's estimated Web Developer median of $79,717 is 14.1% below the national median. The trade-off is usually lower rents and (in some cases) lower state taxes, which can leave real purchasing power competitive.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Lexington median is derived from the Kentucky state-level BLS OEWS median ($79,620), scaled by Lexington's composite cost-of-living index of 90. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Web Developermedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses Kentucky's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 90index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 89.9(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Kentucky Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
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