Lexington, KY vs Atlanta, GA
Moving from Lexington to Atlanta? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($327,671 → $382,938 median home) and taxes.
Lexington vs Atlanta at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Lexington, KY, you'd need about $108,627 in Atlanta, GA (+$8,627).
Livability — Lexington, KY: 72 · Atlanta, GA: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,899 sqft in Lexington vs 2,677 sqft in Atlanta ($173 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lexington, KY | Atlanta, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,336 | $22,080 | +$3,744 |
| Groceries | $4,721 | $4,926 | +$205 |
| Transportation | $3,870 | $3,515 | −$355 |
| Utilities | $1,620 | $1,656 | +$36 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $2,100 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $8,073 | $10,533 | +$2,460 |
| Total | $38,820 | $44,810 | +$5,990 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lexington, KY | Atlanta, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.5 | 100.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.70% | 5.04% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.0% | 6.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.26 | $5.72 |
| Median home price | $327,671 | $382,938 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | -2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $173 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,528 | $1,840 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 7.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.00% | 5.39% |
| Property tax rate | 0.83% | 0.85% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.44% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 32 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $250 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.0 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.15 |
| Natural gas / mo | $70 | $74 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $81 | $123 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $88 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 48.3 | 50.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 13.4 | 2.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |