Paducah vs Lexington leftover
Moving to Lexington costs you $42 a month
$2,190/mo leftover in Lexington vs $2,232 in Paducah after tax and rent ($42 less). −$504 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Paducah leftover
$2,232
a month after tax and rent
Lexington leftover
$2,190
−$42 vs Paducah
Compare Paducah to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Paducah.
Monthly gap
Paducah → Lexington
$42
less / month in Paducah
$2,190 in Lexington · $2,232 in Paducah · 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, 29 households moved Paducah → Lexington (avg AGI $52,621). The whole move →
−$42 / mo
| Per month | Paducah | Lexington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,625 | $6,976 | +$351 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,619 | $1,742 | +$123 |
| Take-home pay | $5,006 | $5,234 | +$228 |
| Rent | $821 | $1,135 | +$314 |
| Getting around | $589 | $541 | −$48 |
| Groceries | $376 | $378 | +$2 |
| Healthcare | $423 | $425 | +$2 |
| Utilities | $235 | $236 | +$1 |
| Everything else | $329 | $330 | +$1 |
| Left over | $2,232 | $2,190 | −$42 |
To break even in Lexington, you'd need to earn
$84,500
Household gross, versus $79,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Paducah does now.
The tax difference alone
−$232
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.4% in Paducah, 25.0% in Lexington.
More about Lexington
Paducah, KY in full
A flat 4% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $977 and 222 sunny days; commutes average 20 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 → Paducah →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Lexington than Paducah?
A one-bedroom is about $821 in Paducah versus $1,135 in Lexington. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $42 a month lower 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 Paducah 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 Paducah 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.