Kentucky: RPP components
BEA 2024 regional context; each category is compared with its own U.S. = 100 benchmark. These are not county price estimates or spending shares.
Black marker: U.S. benchmark = 100 in each row.
LivingCostFacts / state
Kentucky cost of living
Kentucky has an all-items price parity of 90.2 on the U.S. = 100 scale. Compare the statewide picture with county rents and metro price levels.
BEA 2024 · HUD FY2027 · ACS 2020–2024 · CPI through 2026-10
90.2
All-items price level
BEA 2024; U.S. = 100
$63,726
Median household income
ACS 2020–2024
$205,600
Median home value
Owner-occupied homes, ACS 2020–2024
$1,155
Typical 2BR benchmark
Population-weighted county FMR, FY2027
Read the local picture
Regional Price Parities (RPPs) compare prices across places in the same year. An index of 110 means prices are 10% above the U.S. level; 90 means 10% below. RPP measures relative price levels, while CPI measures price change over time.
Put the benchmark in context
Fair Market Rent (FMR) is HUD’s estimate of the 40th percentile gross rent for standard-quality rental homes occupied by recent movers. It includes rent and most tenant-paid utilities. A household’s actual rent can differ substantially by neighborhood, lease and property.
Monthly rent by bedroom
HUD FY2027 gross monthly FMR; includes most tenant-paid utilities. Dollars per month.
Income after benchmark rent is $49,862 a year: ACS median household income minus 12 months of the population-weighted 2BR FMR. This is a comparison between separate datasets and periods, before taxes and all other expenses; it is not disposable income.
The data in view
Price levels relative to the U.S.
BEA RPP, U.S. = 100 each year. This is not an inflation index.
View chart data
| Period or category | Value |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 89.8 |
| 2009 | 88.5 |
| 2010 | 90.4 |
| 2011 | 90.5 |
| 2012 | 90.7 |
| 2013 | 90.9 |
| 2014 | 91.1 |
| 2015 | 90.7 |
| 2016 | 90.7 |
| 2017 | 90.0 |
| 2018 | 89.1 |
| 2019 | 89.6 |
| 2020 | 89.1 |
| 2021 | 89.2 |
| 2022 | 89.4 |
| 2023 | 89.9 |
| 2024 | 90.2 |
Price levels by category
Each category has its own U.S. benchmark of 100. Components are indexes, not spending shares.
| Category | 2024 RPP |
|---|---|
| All items | 90.2 |
| Goods | 96.0 |
| Housing rents | 64.3 |
| Utilities | 75.3 |
| Other services | 97.2 |
Monthly Fair Market Rent by bedroom
HUD 40th percentile gross rent for standard-quality units; includes tenant-paid utilities except telephone, cable and internet. These are benchmarks, not asking-rent medians.
| Home size | FY2027 monthly gross rent |
|---|---|
| Studio | $854 |
| 1 bedroom | $946 |
| 2 bedrooms | $1,155 |
| 3 bedrooms | $1,500 |
| 4 bedrooms | $1,708 |
County cost comparison
Income: ACS 2020–2024. Rent: HUD FY2027. Rent / income = 12 × 2BR FMR ÷ median household income; it does not measure actual renter burden.
| County or equivalent | 2BR rent / month | Median household income | Rent / income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adair County | $909 | $53,553 | 20.4% |
| Allen County | $1,019 | $61,403 | 19.9% |
| Anderson County | $1,121 | $74,488 | 18.1% |
| Ballard County | $1,180 | $66,164 | 21.4% |
| Barren County | $916 | $50,628 | 21.7% |
| Bath County | $909 | $56,541 | 19.3% |
| Bell County | $909 | $31,354 | 34.8% |
| Boone County | $1,442 | $99,414 | 17.4% |
| Bourbon County | $1,416 | $61,354 | 27.7% |
| Boyd County | $1,006 | $61,118 | 19.8% |
| Boyle County | $925 | $61,159 | 18.1% |
| Bracken County | $1,442 | $66,319 | 26.1% |
| Breathitt County | $909 | $34,808 | 31.3% |
| Breckinridge County | $909 | $55,843 | 19.5% |
| Bullitt County | $1,276 | $80,558 | 19.0% |
| Butler County | $909 | $56,092 | 19.4% |
| Caldwell County | $909 | $59,583 | 18.3% |
| Calloway County | $1,155 | $52,706 | 26.3% |
| Campbell County | $1,442 | $77,567 | 22.3% |
| Carlisle County | $932 | $62,439 | 17.9% |
| Carroll County | $1,072 | $56,466 | 22.8% |
| Carter County | $909 | $51,235 | 21.3% |
| Casey County | $909 | $45,510 | 24.0% |
| Christian County | $1,307 | $55,494 | 28.3% |
| Clark County | $1,416 | $64,348 | 26.4% |
| Clay County | $909 | $40,900 | 26.7% |
| Clinton County | $909 | $44,844 | 24.3% |
| Crittenden County | $909 | $46,656 | 23.4% |
| Cumberland County | $909 | $40,000 | 27.3% |
| Daviess County | $1,138 | $68,214 | 20.0% |
| Edmonson County | $1,199 | $54,937 | 26.2% |
| Elliott County | $909 | $45,776 | 23.8% |
| Estill County | $909 | $46,051 | 23.7% |
| Fayette County | $1,416 | $69,479 | 24.5% |
| Fleming County | $909 | $49,307 | 22.1% |
| Floyd County | $925 | $41,279 | 26.9% |
| Franklin County | $1,145 | $65,298 | 21.0% |
| Fulton County | $909 | $38,217 | 28.5% |
| Gallatin County | $1,442 | $63,346 | 27.3% |
| Garrard County | $941 | $63,087 | 17.9% |
| Grant County | $1,146 | $69,178 | 19.9% |
| Graves County | $909 | $50,772 | 21.5% |
| Grayson County | $909 | $50,757 | 21.5% |
| Green County | $909 | $46,798 | 23.3% |
| Greenup County | $1,006 | $60,751 | 19.9% |
| Hancock County | $962 | $65,464 | 17.6% |
| Hardin County | $1,087 | $67,647 | 19.3% |
| Harlan County | $909 | $41,693 | 26.2% |
| Harrison County | $909 | $66,442 | 16.4% |
| Hart County | $909 | $52,285 | 20.9% |
| Henderson County | $909 | $58,851 | 18.5% |
| Henry County | $1,276 | $63,347 | 24.2% |
| Hickman County | $909 | $60,867 | 17.9% |
| Hopkins County | $959 | $56,815 | 20.3% |
| Jackson County | $909 | $40,000 | 27.3% |
| Jefferson County | $1,276 | $69,866 | 21.9% |
| Jessamine County | $1,416 | $74,576 | 22.8% |
| Johnson County | $909 | $44,904 | 24.3% |
| Kenton County | $1,442 | $80,548 | 21.5% |
| Knott County | $983 | $41,761 | 28.2% |
| Knox County | $909 | $32,527 | 33.5% |
| Larue County | $1,087 | $67,067 | 19.4% |
| Laurel County | $943 | $57,771 | 19.6% |
| Lawrence County | $971 | $46,772 | 24.9% |
| Lee County | $996 | $37,568 | 31.8% |
| Leslie County | $909 | $35,934 | 30.4% |
| Letcher County | $909 | $41,793 | 26.1% |
| Lewis County | $909 | $46,838 | 23.3% |
| Lincoln County | $909 | $52,440 | 20.8% |
| Livingston County | $1,220 | $58,984 | 24.8% |
| Logan County | $913 | $60,382 | 18.1% |
| Lyon County | $909 | $65,066 | 16.8% |
| Madison County | $993 | $63,351 | 18.8% |
| Magoffin County | $909 | $33,080 | 33.0% |
| Marion County | $909 | $59,627 | 18.3% |
| Marshall County | $918 | $65,831 | 16.7% |
| Martin County | $909 | $37,042 | 29.4% |
| Mason County | $1,001 | $52,178 | 23.0% |
| McCracken County | $1,131 | $64,373 | 21.1% |
| McCreary County | $909 | $33,750 | 32.3% |
| McLean County | $1,138 | $65,596 | 20.8% |
| Meade County | $1,052 | $74,355 | 17.0% |
| Menifee County | $909 | $45,096 | 24.2% |
| Mercer County | $909 | $64,824 | 16.8% |
| Metcalfe County | $909 | $51,473 | 21.2% |
| Monroe County | $909 | $51,280 | 21.3% |
| Montgomery County | $1,004 | $56,396 | 21.4% |
| Morgan County | $909 | $47,913 | 22.8% |
| Muhlenberg County | $909 | $51,927 | 21.0% |
| Nelson County | $1,022 | $69,562 | 17.6% |
| Nicholas County | $909 | $59,531 | 18.3% |
| Ohio County | $909 | $57,798 | 18.9% |
| Oldham County | $1,276 | $122,497 | 12.5% |
| Owen County | $1,022 | $61,134 | 20.1% |
| Owsley County | $909 | $22,188 | 49.2% |
| Pendleton County | $1,442 | $64,669 | 26.8% |
| Perry County | $1,010 | $42,181 | 28.7% |
| Pike County | $1,095 | $44,312 | 29.7% |
| Powell County | $909 | $40,309 | 27.1% |
| Pulaski County | $924 | $51,898 | 21.4% |
| Robertson County | $909 | $51,830 | 21.0% |
| Rockcastle County | $909 | $48,862 | 22.3% |
| Rowan County | $977 | $54,321 | 21.6% |
| Russell County | $909 | $44,738 | 24.4% |
| Scott County | $1,416 | $85,158 | 20.0% |
| Shelby County | $1,149 | $82,604 | 16.7% |
| Simpson County | $1,122 | $59,858 | 22.5% |
| Spencer County | $1,276 | $102,618 | 14.9% |
| Taylor County | $909 | $60,456 | 18.0% |
| Todd County | $1,054 | $61,103 | 20.7% |
| Trigg County | $1,307 | $59,857 | 26.2% |
| Trimble County | $1,175 | $66,027 | 21.4% |
| Union County | $971 | $60,327 | 19.3% |
| Warren County | $1,199 | $65,794 | 21.9% |
| Washington County | $939 | $61,616 | 18.3% |
| Wayne County | $909 | $45,739 | 23.8% |
| Webster County | $909 | $59,628 | 18.3% |
| Whitley County | $909 | $44,615 | 24.4% |
| Wolfe County | $909 | $30,417 | 35.9% |
| Woodford County | $1,416 | $83,788 | 20.3% |
Metros with member counties in Kentucky
BEA 2024, U.S. = 100. Rent is a population-weighted mean of member-county benchmarks where available.
| Metro area | All-items RPP | Housing RPP | 2BR rent / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green, KY | 90.2 | 63.4 | $1,159 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 95.4 | 87.6 | $1,428 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 90.9 | 73.8 | $1,294 |
| Elizabethtown, KY | 90.6 | 66.7 | $1,087 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 88.4 | 51.3 | $1,011 |
| Lexington-Fayette, KY | 92.9 | 77.1 | $1,416 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 93.1 | 78.6 | $1,252 |
| Owensboro, KY | 88.6 | 55.7 | $1,138 |
| Paducah, KY-IL | 86.1 | 48.8 | $1,115 |