Overall
Diff +12.2 RPP
Paducah vs Lancaster
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lancaster is 14.1% more expensive than Paducah.
14.1% more expensive
Lancaster, PA is 14.1% more expensive than Paducah, KY-IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 86.1). A $100,000 salary in Paducah buys about the same as $114,141 in Lancaster; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 86.1 (Paducah) vs 98.3 (Lancaster)
- $100k in Paducah ≈ $114,141 purchasing power in Lancaster
- Rents drives the gap (+45.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair KY:PA 86.1→98.3
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE KY × PA
- RENT-LED Rent-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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Paducah would need to be in Lancaster for the same purchasing power:
| In Paducah | In Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $57,070 | +$7,070 |
| $75,000 | $85,606 | +$10,606 |
| $100,000 | $114,141 | +$14,141 |
| $150,000 | $171,211 | +$21,211 |
$ in Paducah = in Lancaster
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (86.1 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
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.
Paducah, KY-IL and Lancaster, PA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 12.2 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Rents leads the difference, with Lancaster 45.0 points higher than Paducah. 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 housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Paducah corresponds to $114,141 in Lancaster.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +4.7 RPP
Services
Diff +30.4 RPP
Rents
Diff +45.0 RPP
| Category | Paducah | Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 86.1 | 98.3 | +12.2 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 100.7 | +4.7 |
| Services | 76.9 | 107.3 | +30.4 |
| Rents | 48.8 | 93.8 | +45.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Paducah 86.1
Lancaster 98.3
Goods
Paducah 96.0
Lancaster 100.7
Services
Paducah 76.9
Lancaster 107.3
Rents
Paducah 48.8
Lancaster 93.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Paducah
86.1
Cost Index
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Paducah and Lancaster share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 15.8 to 12.2 RPP points. Lancaster remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 5.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (36.1 to 30.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Paducah RPP | Lancaster RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 84.4 | 100.2 | 15.8 points Lancaster higher |
| 2012 | 84.6 | 97.8 | 13.2 points Lancaster higher |
| 2016 | 86.0 | 99.4 | 13.3 points Lancaster higher |
| 2020 | 85.5 | 97.9 | 12.4 points Lancaster higher |
| 2024 | 86.1 | 98.3 | 12.2 points Lancaster 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lancaster more expensive than Paducah?
Lancaster is 14.1% more expensive than Paducah. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 86.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lancaster equals $100K in Paducah?
A $100,000 salary in Paducah has the same purchasing power as $114,141 in Lancaster. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Paducah and Lancaster?
Rents in Paducah are indexed at 48.8 while Lancaster is at 93.8 (national average = 100). Lancaster 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.