Overall
- Lexington-Fayette
- 92.9
- Barnstable Town
- 98.4
Diff +5.5 RPP
Lexington-Fayette vs Barnstable Town
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Barnstable Town is 5.9% more expensive than Lexington-Fayette.
5.9% more expensive
Barnstable Town, MA is 5.9% more expensive than Lexington-Fayette, KY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.4 vs 92.9). A $100,000 salary in Lexington-Fayette buys about the same as $105,880 in Barnstable Town; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.9 (Lexington-Fayette) vs 98.4 (Barnstable Town)
- $100k in Lexington-Fayette ≈ $105,880 purchasing power in Barnstable Town
- Services drives the gap (+83.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair KY:MA 92.9→98.4
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE KY × MA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
Barnstable Town, MA is 5.9% more expensive than Lexington-Fayette, KY, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.5-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Barnstable Town 83.9 points higher than Lexington-Fayette. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Lexington-Fayette to $105,880 in Barnstable Town, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Lexington-Fayette and Barnstable Town share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 7.8 to 5.5 RPP points. Barnstable Town remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 22.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (61.8 to 83.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Lexington-Fayette RPP | Barnstable Town RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.0 | 102.8 | 7.8 points Barnstable Town higher |
| 2012 | 96.2 | 100.9 | 4.7 points Barnstable Town higher |
| 2016 | 95.2 | 105.8 | 10.6 points Barnstable Town higher |
| 2020 | 91.6 | 101.3 | 9.7 points Barnstable Town higher |
| 2024 | 92.9 | 98.4 | 5.5 points Barnstable Town higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lexington-Fayette
- 96.2
- Barnstable Town
- 97.0
Diff +0.8 RPP
Services
- Lexington-Fayette
- 74.6
- Barnstable Town
- 158.4
Diff +83.9 RPP
Rents
- Lexington-Fayette
- 77.1
- Barnstable Town
- 90.0
Diff +12.9 RPP
| Category | Lexington-Fayette | Barnstable Town | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.9 | 98.4 | +5.5 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 97.0 | +0.8 |
| Services | 74.6 | 158.4 | +83.9 |
| Rents | 77.1 | 90.0 | +12.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lexington-Fayette 92.9
Barnstable Town 98.4
Goods
Lexington-Fayette 96.2
Barnstable Town 97.0
Services
Lexington-Fayette 74.6
Barnstable Town 158.4
Rents
Lexington-Fayette 77.1
Barnstable Town 90.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lexington-Fayette would need to be in Barnstable Town for the same purchasing power:
| In Lexington-Fayette | In Barnstable Town | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $52,940 | +$2,940 |
| $75,000 | $79,410 | +$4,410 |
| $100,000 | $105,880 | +$5,880 |
| $150,000 | $158,820 | +$8,820 |
$ in Lexington-Fayette = in Barnstable Town
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.9 → 98.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Lexington-Fayette
92.9
Cost Index
Barnstable Town
98.4
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Barnstable Town more expensive than Lexington-Fayette?
Barnstable Town is 5.9% more expensive than Lexington-Fayette. The overall cost index is 98.4 vs 92.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Barnstable Town equals $100K in Lexington-Fayette?
A $100,000 salary in Lexington-Fayette has the same purchasing power as $105,880 in Barnstable Town. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lexington-Fayette and Barnstable Town?
Rents in Lexington-Fayette are indexed at 77.1 while Barnstable Town is at 90.0 (national average = 100). Barnstable Town has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.