Nashville, TN vs Lexington, KY
Moving from Nashville to Lexington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $327,671 median home) and taxes.
Nashville 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 Nashville, TN, you'd need about $95,338 in Lexington, KY (−$4,662).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Lexington, KY: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,899 sqft in Lexington ($228 vs $173 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Lexington, KY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $18,336 | −$3,240 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,721 | +$7 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,870 | +$740 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,620 | +$12 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $2,200 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $8,073 | +$2,843 |
| Total | $38,459 | $38,820 | +$361 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Lexington, KY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 92.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 4.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.26 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $327,671 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $173 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,528 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 0.83% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.44% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $250 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 15.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |