Lexington, KY vs Tampa, FL
Moving from Lexington to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($327,671 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
Lexington vs Tampa 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 $110,780 in Tampa, FL (+$10,780).
Livability — Lexington, KY: 72 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,899 sqft in Lexington vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($173 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lexington, KY | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,336 | $24,216 | +$5,880 |
| Groceries | $4,721 | $4,949 | +$228 |
| Transportation | $3,870 | $4,800 | +$930 |
| Utilities | $1,620 | $1,656 | +$36 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $4,200 | +$2,000 |
| Taxes | $8,073 | $4,642 | −$3,431 |
| Total | $38,820 | $44,463 | +$5,643 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lexington, KY | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.5 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.70% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.0% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 43 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.26 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $327,671 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $173 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,528 | $2,018 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.83% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.44% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,200 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $250 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.0 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |