Ranked by median pay, with jobs and rent share; from BLS and Census data.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 08/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
9 metro areas in Kentucky publish pay for this occupation with at least 100 jobs, together 69,360 jobs. The three largest employers of retail salespersons are Cincinnati (28,670 jobs), Louisville/Jefferson County (17,540 jobs), Lexington-Fayette (7,810 jobs), which hold 77.9% of those jobs. Median pay across these metros runs from $28,220 to $30,810 a year, against $29,650 for the whole state and $35,410 for the whole country.
BLS reports a national median of $35,410 a year for retail salespersons (the lowest-paid tenth earn under $27,210 and the highest-paid tenth over $47,890). Employment is projected to change by -0.3% between 2025 and 2035, with about 520,600 openings a year including replacements. The typical entry route is: No formal educational credential; on-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training. Education requirements are BLS's typical ones, not legal rules; many states also license this work, so check the state board before applying.
Higher pay is not the whole story: look at the rent share column (yearly rent divided by median pay) and the price level (100 is the national average). A metro with a lower salary but cheaper housing can leave more money at the end of the month. The location quotient shows where the occupation is concentrated; employers cluster where it is above 1, which usually means more openings and more competition among employers for the same skills.
Retail salespersons in Kentucky: the highest median pay is in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN area ($30,810 a year); the most jobs are in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN area (28,670). Statewide the median is $29,650 with 51,250 jobs. Metro areas with at least 100 jobs in this occupation are listed; click a column to sort.
| Metropolitan area ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Median pay ⇅ | Entry (10th pct.) ⇅ | Top (90th pct.) ⇅ | Location quotient ⇅ | Yearly rent as % of median pay ⇅ | Price level (US = 100) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 28,670 | $30,810 | $25,300 | $46,350 | 1.04 | 43% | 95.4 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 17,540 | $30,660 | $23,210 | $45,510 | 1.02 | 44% | 93.1 |
| Lexington-Fayette, KY | 7,810 | $30,100 | $22,880 | $44,500 | 1.09 | 45% | 92.9 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 3,470 | $29,100 | $22,410 | $45,280 | 1.34 | 50% | 90.9 |
| Owensboro, KY | 1,490 | $29,030 | $22,340 | $42,440 | 1.21 | 37% | 88.6 |
| Elizabethtown, KY | 1,570 | $28,650 | $22,100 | $43,590 | 1.21 | 40% | 90.6 |
| Bowling Green, KY | 2,720 | $28,430 | $21,910 | $37,670 | 1.32 | 41% | 90.2 |
| Paducah, KY-IL | 1,800 | $28,390 | $22,090 | $38,420 | 1.43 | 37% | 86.1 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 4,290 | $28,220 | $21,640 | $37,720 | 1.22 | 38% | 88.4 |
National page: Retail salespersons →Cities of Kentucky
Rent uses the metro median gross rent (ACS) and appears only for metros that contain a city of this guide. "n/a" means BLS suppressed the figure or we have no rent for that metro.
In the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN area, with a median of $30,810 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025; metro areas with at least 100 jobs).
In the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN area, with 28,670 jobs.