Lexington, KY vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from Lexington to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($327,671 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
Lexington vs Phoenix 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 $113,162 in Phoenix, AZ (+$13,162).
Livability — Lexington, KY: 72 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,899 sqft in Lexington vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($173 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lexington, KY | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,336 | $20,904 | +$2,568 |
| Groceries | $4,721 | $4,919 | +$198 |
| Transportation | $3,870 | $3,960 | +$90 |
| Utilities | $1,620 | $1,668 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,800 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $8,073 | $7,280 | −$793 |
| Total | $38,820 | $40,531 | +$1,711 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lexington, KY | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.5 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.70% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.0% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.26 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $327,671 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $173 | $242 |
| Median rent | $1,528 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.00% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.83% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.44% | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $250 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.0 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $70 | $54 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $81 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 41 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 48.3 | 7.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 13.4 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |