Kentucky·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1244

Best Network programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment

Install, configure, and maintain an organization's local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), data communications network, operating systems, and physical and virtual servers.

31 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 5,120 people a year. The job pays a median of $87,020 in Kentucky across about 2,800 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledNetwork AdministratorSystems Administrator (Systems Admin)Information Technology Specialist (IT Specialist)Local Area Network Administrator (LAN Administrator)Network ManagerSoftware ManagerSystems OperatorSystems Specialist
Graduates / yr
5,120
in Kentucky
Median pay · Kentucky
$87,020
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
2,800
people employed
Schools
31
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
52%
across those schools
Median net price
$14,604
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

2 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Kentucky page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 11.0101In Kentucky
4,635
90.5%
27$57,986$24,286
2
CIP 11.1003In Kentucky
485
9.5%
8$48,185$25,250

Top 25 schools in Kentucky

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 15 of the 31 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Jefferson Community and Technical College
Louisville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
913Computer and Information Sciences, General$41,54335%
2Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Lexington, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
474Computer and Information Sciences, General$37,01943%
3Gateway Community and Technical College
Florence, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
429Computer and Information Sciences, General$45,42859%
4Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College
Bowling Green, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
423Computer and Information Sciences, General$28,56858%
5Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Elizabethtown, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
386Computer and Information Sciences, General59%
6University of the Cumberlands
Williamsburg, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
272Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance50%$11,67299%
7West Kentucky Community and Technical College
Paducah, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
236Computer and Information Sciences, General$36,33250%
8Owensboro Community and Technical College
Owensboro, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
209Computer and Information Sciences, General$35,17454%
9Somerset Community College
Somerset, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
201Computer and Information Sciences, General$34,99243%
10Madisonville Community College
Madisonville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
182Computer and Information Sciences, General$34,20749%
11Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY Public · 2 feeder programs
174Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance52%68%
12Maysville Community and Technical College
Maysville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
172Computer and Information Sciences, General$39,34256%
13University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY Public · 2 feeder programs
163Computer and Information Sciences, General$71,29371%93%
14Big Sandy Community and Technical College
Prestonsburg, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
128Computer and Information Sciences, General38%
15Hopkinsville Community College
Hopkinsville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
117Computer and Information Sciences, General45%
16Ashland Community and Technical College
Ashland, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
113Computer and Information Sciences, General51%
17Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
86Computer and Information Sciences, General$39,86750%78%
18University of Louisville
Louisville, KY Public · 2 feeder programs
76Computer and Information Sciences, General$68,35161%79%
19Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College
Cumberland, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
68Computer and Information Sciences, General47%
20Hazard Community and Technical College
Hazard, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
60Computer and Information Sciences, General48%
21Lindsey Wilson University
Columbia, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
59Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance44%$14,471
22Murray State University
Murray, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
43Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance61%86%
23Berea College
Berea, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
34Computer and Information Sciences, General$35,18558%$5,27419%
24Henderson Community College
Henderson, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
25Computer and Information Sciences, General35%
25Sullivan University
Louisville, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
24Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$39,74571%$29,703

All 31 schools in Kentucky

Every school in Kentucky with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Kentucky that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Jefferson Community and Technical CollegeLouisvillePublic9131
Bluegrass Community and Technical CollegeLexingtonPublic4741
Gateway Community and Technical CollegeFlorencePublic4291
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical CollegeBowling GreenPublic4231
Elizabethtown Community and Technical CollegeElizabethtownPublic3861
University of the CumberlandsWilliamsburgPrivate not-for-profit2722
West Kentucky Community and Technical CollegePaducahPublic2361
Owensboro Community and Technical CollegeOwensboroPublic2091
Somerset Community CollegeSomersetPublic2011
Madisonville Community CollegeMadisonvillePublic1821
Northern Kentucky UniversityHighland HeightsPublic1742
Maysville Community and Technical CollegeMaysvillePublic1721
University of KentuckyLexingtonPublic1632
Big Sandy Community and Technical CollegePrestonsburgPublic1281
Hopkinsville Community CollegeHopkinsvillePublic1171

What network and computer systems administrators earn in Kentucky

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Kentucky
$87,020
Mean annual
$96,690
Jobs in state
2,800
What the range looks like
10th pct$55,920Median$87,02090th pct$171,770
Versus the national median
-12.2%

U.S. median $99,130. Kentucky pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.69×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Kentucky

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
$96,110median
990 jobs
Lexington-Fayette, KY
$92,390median
430 jobs
Owensboro, KY
$94,060median
50 jobs
Paducah, KY-IL
$78,690median
50 jobs
Elizabethtown, KY
$84,240median
60 jobs
Bowling Green, KY
$76,880median
90 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-4.2%
Decline
Openings per year
14,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-13,800
331,500 → 317,700
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Network and Computer Systems Administrators page.

How to become a Network

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionMonitoringActive ListeningSpeakingWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Kentucky

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 3 majors mapped to Network and Computer Systems Administrators3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
  • 11.1001Network and System Administration/Administrator
  • 11.1003Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance

Common questions

Answers for people weighing network and computer systems administrators programs in Kentucky.

What degree do you need to become a Network?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer and Information Sciences, General, which awarded 4,635 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 90.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Network?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management. Together they graduate about 5,120 people a year in Kentucky.

How much do network and computer systems administrators earn in Kentucky?+

The median is $87,020 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 12.2% below the U.S. median of $99,130. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for network and computer systems administrators growing?+

BLS projects a -4.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 14,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+

31 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do network and computer systems administrators work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Network Administrator, Systems Administrator (Systems Admin), Information Technology Specialist (IT Specialist), Local Area Network Administrator (LAN Administrator) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1244.

Network and Computer Systems Administrators in other statesTexasGeorgiaFloridaVirginiaUtahNew YorkMarylandCalifornia

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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