With Lexington constantly growing and undertaking multiple high-profile developments this year, we figured it was time to talk about the cost of planting some roots in the Horse Capital of the World.
The median household income in Fayette County is $66,087 according to the US Census Bureau. State-wise, Kentucky is No. 45 in the country for median income at $55,573 per household.
The overall cost of living in Lexington is lower than the national average. | Screenshot via bestplaces.net
The overall cost of living in Lexington is lower than the national average, but higher than the rest of the state.
In Lexington, the cost of healthcare is lower compared to other parts of the state, but slightly higher than the US average. However, the cost of groceries, housing, and other miscellaneous expenses in the city have higher average costs than other cities in Kentucky.
Breaking down the numbers
Hypothetically speaking, if you live in a household that brings in $55,000, your max monthly budget for rent and utilities would be about $1,375. The average monthly rent for an apartment in Lexington is $1,245 — putting you just under budget.
Meanwhile, if you’re wondering how much you can currently afford to spend on buying a home in Lexington, try using SmartAsset’s cost calculator. Factors like your marital status, annual pre-tax income, down payment, and monthly debt, will help determine that figure. According to BestPlaces, the median home cost in Lexington is $260,300.
While we’re crunching numbers, let’s also take a look at the chart below to see how Lexington’s cost of living compares to that of Louisville.
The overall cost of living in Lexington is slightly higher than in Louisville. | Screenshot via bestplaces.net
Interested in seeing Lexington’s cost of living compared to cities in other states? We played around on NerdWallet’s cost of living calculator, where you can put in any city along with your current pre-tax household income to find out what other cities you could actually afford to live in.
We took a look at the cost of living in Lexington compared to Nashville. Here’s what we found:
- The cost of living is 7% higher in Nashville.
- To maintain our standard of living, we would need to bring in $53,433 to our Nashville household.
- The median cost for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,729, which is $609 more than Lexington.
Local housing + development
Lexington has entities such as the Lexington Housing Authority + other government-funded programs to help develop more affordable units.
There are also a number of local development firms working on apartments seemingly all the time — from the High Street development project to the affordable housing project coming to Transylvania University’s Marquard Field.
