Louisville/Jefferson County, KY vs Boston, MA
Moving from Louisville/Jefferson County to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Louisville/Jefferson County vs Boston 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 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY, you'd need about $118,458 in Boston, MA (+$18,458).
Livability — Louisville/Jefferson County, KY: 72 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in Louisville/Jefferson County vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($200 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $38,532 | +$20,532 |
| Groceries | $4,716 | $5,040 | +$324 |
| Transportation | $3,870 | $3,210 | −$660 |
| Utilities | $1,620 | $3,180 | +$1,560 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,800 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $7,922 | $17,694 | +$9,772 |
| Total | $38,328 | $69,455 | +$31,128 |
Side by side
| Metric | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.66% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.00% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.82% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.44% | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $250 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.0 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |