Miami, FL vs Lexington, KY
Moving from Miami to Lexington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($475,622 → $327,671 median home) and taxes.
Miami vs Lexington 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 Miami, FL, you'd need about $82,525 in Lexington, KY (−$17,475).
Livability — Miami, FL: 57 · Lexington, KY: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,945 sqft in Miami vs 2,899 sqft in Lexington ($257 vs $173 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Miami, FL | Lexington, KY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $32,316 | $18,336 | −$13,980 |
| Groceries | $5,091 | $4,721 | −$370 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,870 | −$930 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,620 | −$36 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $2,200 | −$2,000 |
| Taxes | $5,772 | $8,073 | +$2,301 |
| Total | $53,835 | $38,820 | −$15,015 |
Side by side
| Metric | Miami, FL | Lexington, KY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.1 | 92.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.38 | $5.26 |
| Median home price | $475,622 | $327,671 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $257 | $173 |
| Median rent | $2,693 | $1,528 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 0.83% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.44% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $250 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 15.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |