New York, NY vs Lexington, KY
Moving from New York to Lexington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $327,671 median home) and taxes.
New York 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $82,117 in Lexington, KY (−$17,883).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Lexington, KY: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 2,899 sqft in Lexington ($455 vs $173 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Lexington, KY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $18,336 | −$23,700 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $4,721 | −$694 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,870 | −$25 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,620 | −$1,560 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,200 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $8,073 | −$15,423 |
| Total | $79,622 | $38,820 | −$40,802 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Lexington, KY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 92.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 4.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.26 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $327,671 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $173 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,528 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 4.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 0.83% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.44% |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $250 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 15.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $70 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $81 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 26 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 48.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 29.8 | 13.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |