Computer Hardware Engineers Salary — Lexington, Kentucky

The average Computer Hardware Engineers in Lexington, Kentucky earns $116,080 a year.

$116,080 / year, mean
↓ 29.6% below national average 100th percentile in Kentucky

Lexington 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 well below the national average for computer hardware engineers — one of the largest gaps in this dataset. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within Kentucky

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
100
Estimate confidence
RSE 5.1%
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.

San Jose $208,700 San Francisco $198,010 Allentown $188,740 Seattle $180,820 San Diego $177,800 Austin $174,450 New York $167,920 Los Angeles $164,390 Santa Cruz $159,600 Dallas $156,150 Santa Maria $154,060 Baltimore $150,470 Palm Bay $149,930 Syracuse $143,370 Riverside $143,240 Utica $142,890 Bend $141,820 Orlando $141,050 Chicago $139,310 Miami $138,630 Houston $136,160 Richmond $133,680 Crestview $133,440 Virginia Beach $132,360 Detroit $131,940 Buffalo $131,180 Lexington Park $130,330 Oxnard $129,860 San Antonio $128,300 Ann Arbor $128,130 Bakersfield $127,700 Rochester $126,540 Tampa $125,560 Charlottesville $122,310 Panama City $119,320 Bremerton $117,890 Lexington $116,080 Indianapolis $114,640 Louisville $113,820 Grand Rapids $108,800
CityMean salaryvs. Lexington
Allentown, Pennsylvania$188,740+62.6%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$128,130+10.4%
Austin, Texas$174,450+50.3%
Bakersfield, California$127,700+10.0%
Baltimore, Maryland$150,470+29.6%
Bend, Oregon$141,820+22.2%
Bremerton, Washington$117,890+1.6%
Buffalo, New York$131,180+13.0%
Charlottesville, Virginia$122,310+5.4%
Chicago, Illinois$139,310+20.0%
Crestview, Florida$133,440+15.0%
Dallas, Texas$156,150+34.5%
Detroit, Michigan$131,940+13.7%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$108,800-6.3%
Houston, Texas$136,160+17.3%
Indianapolis, Indiana$114,640-1.2%
Lexington Park, Maryland$130,330+12.3%
Los Angeles, California$164,390+41.6%
Louisville, Kentucky$113,820-1.9%
Miami, Florida$138,630+19.4%
New York, New York$167,920+44.7%
Orlando, Florida$141,050+21.5%
Oxnard, California$129,860+11.9%
Palm Bay, Florida$149,930+29.2%
Panama City, Florida$119,320+2.8%
Richmond, Virginia$133,680+15.2%
Riverside, California$143,240+23.4%
Rochester, New York$126,540+9.0%
San Antonio, Texas$128,300+10.5%
San Diego, California$177,800+53.2%
San Francisco, California$198,010+70.6%
San Jose, California$208,700+79.8%
Santa Cruz, California$159,600+37.5%
Santa Maria, California$154,060+32.7%
Seattle, Washington$180,820+55.8%
Syracuse, New York$143,370+23.5%
Tampa, Florida$125,560+8.2%
Utica, New York$142,890+23.1%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$132,360+14.0%
Gross salary
116,080/yr
Estimated take-home
83,355/yr
Est. total withheld
28.2%

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 Computer Hardware Engineers salaries in Kentucky → All Computer Hardware Engineers salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

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

Occupation 17-2061 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