Lexington, KY vs San Diego, CA
Moving from Lexington to San Diego? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($327,671 → $946,365 median home) and taxes.
Lexington vs San Diego 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 $119,719 in San Diego, CA (+$19,719).
Livability — Lexington, KY: 72 · San Diego, CA: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,899 sqft in Lexington vs 793 sqft in San Diego ($173 vs $631 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lexington, KY | San Diego, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,336 | $35,412 | +$17,076 |
| Groceries | $4,721 | $5,112 | +$391 |
| Transportation | $3,870 | $5,125 | +$1,255 |
| Utilities | $1,620 | $3,804 | +$2,184 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $8,073 | $21,601 | +$13,528 |
| Total | $38,820 | $72,554 | +$33,734 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lexington, KY | San Diego, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.5 | 110.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.70% | 6.34% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.0% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.26 | $6.30 |
| Median home price | $327,671 | $946,365 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 9.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $173 | $631 |
| Median rent | $1,528 | $2,951 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.00% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.83% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.44% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,200 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $250 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.0 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $70 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $81 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 48.3 | 9.8 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 13.4 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 68% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |