State cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Cost of Living in Kentucky
Statewide Regional Price Parities for Kentucky from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100, across 6 metro areas.
- 90.2
- Statewide RPP
- #40
- of 51 states by cost
- 64.3
- Rents RPP
- 6
- Metro areas
Kentucky ranks #40 of 51 states by cost, and its statewide price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- rose +0.3 points in the 2023-2024 release
- similar cost to Nebraska
The verdict
Kentucky costs less than 78% of U.S. states, a statewide index of 90.2, 9.8% below the national average.
- Rents
- furthest category from 100, at 64.3
- Nebraska
- closest statewide cost peer, 0.1 points away
- Louisville/Jefferson County
- highest-cost metro, 93.1
- Paducah
- lowest-cost metro, 86.1
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $110,915 when earned in Kentucky.
Reading the Kentucky Cost of Living Picture
Kentucky sits in an affordability lane closest to Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri. A lower statewide index does not mean every place or budget category is cheap; it means this state belongs with those peers before a household narrows to a metro. The highest category and Rents are 31.7 points apart, so the statewide average joins two materially different household experiences.
Kentucky captures 6 metro areas in the BEA dataset, and the range across them is meaningful. Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN leads on cost at 93.1, while Paducah, KY-IL sits at the opposite end at 86.1 - a gap of 7.0 index points inside a single state. For goods the state indexes at 96.0, for services 75.3, and for rents 64.3. Rents run 25.8 points below the statewide index here, so housing is what pulls the whole figure down — a household that already owns outright captures much less of that discount than a renter does.
Over time, Kentucky's statewide index has held steady within 0.3 points, suggesting a stable competitive position against other states. Practically, this means a $100,000 national salary delivers the purchasing power of about $110,915 of national buying power when earned inside Kentucky, and a household relocating here would need roughly $90,159 to reproduce a $100K lifestyle. With 6 reporting metros inside the state, treat this figure as the midpoint of a range rather than a quote for any one address.
Metro areas in Kentucky, ranked by cost
| # | Metro area | Overall | Goods | Services | Rents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisville/Jefferson County | 93.1 | 96.2 | 75.0 | 78.6 |
| 2 | Lexington-Fayette | 92.9 | 96.2 | 74.6 | 77.1 |
| 3 | Elizabethtown | 90.6 | 96.2 | 74.6 | 66.7 |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 90.2 | 96.2 | 75.2 | 63.4 |
| 5 | Owensboro | 88.6 | 96.2 | 75.2 | 55.7 |
| 6 | Paducah | 86.1 | 96.0 | 76.9 | 48.8 |
The Rents RPP index measures housing costs relative to the national average (100). For the federal 40th-percentile Fair Market Rent by bedroom size and county, see the HUD Fair Market Rents dataset.
Kentucky vs every U.S. state
Where this state sits in the national cost distribution
90 Bottom 22% higher than 22% of 51 US states
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Kentucky RPP history, 2008–2024
The statewide index has changed by only 0.3 points from 2008 to 2024. The line shows every retained BEA release against the national benchmark of 100; the table preserves the component detail.
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 89.8 |
| 2009 | 88.5 |
| 2010 | 90.4 |
| 2011 | 90.5 |
| 2012 | 90.7 |
| 2013 | 90.9 |
| 2014 | 91.1 |
| 2015 | 90.7 |
| 2016 | 90.7 |
| 2017 | 90.0 |
| 2018 | 89.1 |
| 2019 | 89.6 |
| 2020 | 89.1 |
| 2021 | 89.2 |
| 2022 | 89.4 |
| 2023 | 89.9 |
| 2024 | 90.2 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Kentucky's overall RPP rose +0.3 points, from 89.9 in 2023 to 90.2 in 2024. The largest category move was services, changing from 80.9 to 75.3. RPP is a relative price index, so this reports a change against the national benchmark rather than a household's dollar bill.
What this means in Kentucky
The statewide index is a starting point, cost varies metro to metro within Kentucky.
- Don't rely on the state figure alone: Louisville/Jefferson County (93.1) and Paducah (86.1) sit 7 index points apart inside Kentucky. Check your specific metro.
- Rents index at 64.3 (35.7% below average) - the largest swing in the RPP. Review the housing line before any relocation decision. Highest rents
- Weighing Kentucky against another state? Convert your salary to local purchasing power first. Salary calculator
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark (national average = 100) for the data year shown, pair it with local wages and current rents before deciding.
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Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive rankings, cost of living vs wages, and how BEA constructs RPP data.
States with Similar Cost of Living
These states have RPP indices closest to Kentucky, making them useful peers for relocation or budget comparison.
Nationwide states with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Kentucky: nearest states by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are labelled nationwide neighborhoods, distinct from the closest-RPP list above.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest states by overall regional price parity (90.2 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest states by rents regional price parity (64.3 here).
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities Index where national average = 100
Frequently Asked Questions
How much cheaper is living in Kentucky than the U.S. average?
Kentucky has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 90.2, meaning it is 9.8% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.0, services at 75.3, and rents at 64.3.
What salary in Kentucky equals $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $90,159 in Kentucky. Conversely, $100K earned in Kentucky has the purchasing power of $110,915 at the national average.
How much of Kentucky's affordability is rents?
Rents in Kentucky are indexed at 64.3, which is 35.7% below the national average. The state is relatively affordable for renters.
Which is the most expensive metro in Kentucky?
The most expensive metro area in Kentucky is Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN with an RPP of 93.1. The most affordable is Paducah, KY-IL at 86.1. There are 6 metro areas in Kentucky with BEA price data.
Is Kentucky getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Kentucky's overall cost index changed by +0.3 points (from 89.8 to 90.2). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
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 2024. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.