Bowling Green vs Lexington leftover
You'd keep $261 more a month in Lexington
$2,177/mo leftover in Lexington vs $1,916 in Bowling Green after tax and rent ($261 more). +$3,132 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Bowling Green leftover
$1,916
a month after tax and rent
Lexington leftover
$2,177
+$261 vs Bowling Green
Compare Bowling Green to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Bowling Green.
Monthly gap
Bowling Green → Lexington
$261
more / month in Lexington
$2,177 in Lexington · $1,916 in Bowling Green · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 66 households moved Bowling Green → Lexington (avg AGI $51,712). 60 went the other way. The whole move →
+$261 / mo
| Per month | Bowling Green | Lexington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,333 | $6,956 | +$622 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,516 | $1,735 | +$219 |
| Take-home pay | $4,817 | $5,221 | +$404 |
| Rent | $948 | $1,135 | +$187 |
| Getting around | $584 | $541 | −$43 |
| Groceries | $378 | $378 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $425 | $425 | $0 |
| Utilities | $236 | $236 | $0 |
| Everything else | $330 | $330 | $0 |
| Left over | $1,916 | $2,177 | +$261 |
To break even in Lexington, you'd need to earn
$78,500
Household gross, versus $76,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Bowling Green does now.
The tax difference alone
−$411
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.9% in Bowling Green, 24.9% in Lexington.
More about Lexington
Bowling Green, KY in full
A flat 4% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,129 and 205 sunny days; commutes average 22 minutes.
Lexington, KY in full
A flat 4% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,351 and 194 sunny days; commutes average 22 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Lexington on Lexington wages.
Lexington → Bowling Green →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Lexington than Bowling Green?
A one-bedroom is about $948 in Bowling Green versus $1,135 in Lexington. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $261 a month higher in Lexington. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Lexington have state income tax?
Lexington is in Kentucky, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 1.50%.
What changes if you move from Bowling Green to Lexington?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Kentucky tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Bowling Green and Lexington moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.