Lexington, KY vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Lexington to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($327,671 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Lexington vs Seattle 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 $121,870 in Seattle, WA (+$21,870).
Livability — Lexington, KY: 72 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,899 sqft in Lexington vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($173 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lexington, KY | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,336 | $26,784 | +$8,448 |
| Groceries | $4,721 | $5,405 | +$684 |
| Transportation | $3,870 | $4,075 | +$205 |
| Utilities | $1,620 | $1,548 | −$72 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $8,073 | $8,826 | +$753 |
| Total | $38,820 | $48,138 | +$9,318 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lexington, KY | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.5 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.70% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.0% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.26 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $327,671 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $173 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,528 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.00% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.83% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.44% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $250 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.0 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $70 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $81 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 48.3 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 13.4 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |