What is the cost of living in Lexington-Fayette?

Lexington-Fayette has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 77.1, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,272/month.

What is the median salary in Lexington-Fayette?

The median salary in Lexington-Fayette is $68,636 annually (mean: $73,615). Top occupations include Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Lexington-Fayette?

The violent crime rate in the Lexington-Fayette area is 225 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1397 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Lexington-Fayette?

The state of KY has 1,395 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.2:1.

How much does childcare cost in Lexington-Fayette?

Infant center-based childcare in the Lexington-Fayette area averages $7,238 per year. Preschool averages $6,605/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Lexington-Fayette a good place to relocate?

Lexington-Fayette has a Life Score of 60.4/100 (C), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is an above-average score, Lexington-Fayette outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Lexington-Fayette sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Lexington-Fayette ranks #150 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Lexington-Fayette, KY

LiveAbility 53.8/100 places Lexington-Fayette #150 of 387 (middle third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.9
Cost index (US=100): $1,272
2BR rent / mo: $68,636
Median salary: 53.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Lexington-Fayette ranks #150 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (53.8/100), with its strongest marks in safety and air quality.

#150
of 387 US metros · Above median: 4,588,372
metro-area population: 225
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,395
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: low hazard (29/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Lexington-Fayette ranks #150 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,272/mo, median salary $68,636; LiveAbility Score 53.8/100, strongest in safety and air quality.

Signature: LiveAbility 53.8/100 places Lexington-Fayette #150 of 387 (middle third).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.9 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,272/mo.

LiveAbility 53.8/100 keeps Lexington-Fayette in the middle third (#150 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Lexington-Fayette area is 274,970.

Lexington-Fayette vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

54 Top 40% higher than 60% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Lexington-Fayette housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Lexington-Fayette MSA; housing RPP 77.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,272/mo.

Studio

$883

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,079

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,272

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,743

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,940

/month

Lexington-Fayette wages and employment

Lexington-Fayette posts 274,970 total employment with median salary $68,636.

Median Salary

$68,636

Mean Salary

$73,615

Total Employment

274,970

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$59,730
General and Operations Managers	$80,440
Registered Nurses	$79,040
Retail Salespersons	$30,100
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$41,910

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Lexington-Fayette area from NCES.

Schools

1,395

Enrollment

651,902

Student:Teacher

15.2:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Lexington-Fayette area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,238

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,605

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,605

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Lexington-Fayette's composite Life Score is 60.4/100 (C), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

55/100

Above average

Wages

53/100

Average

Rent

54/100

Average

Crime

78/100

Strong

Schools

52/100

Average

Childcare

89/100

Elite

Environment

49/100

Average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Lexington-Fayette ranks #150 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 53.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (78/100)

Safety

78
Air quality

56
Cost of living

55
Housing

54
Climate

54
Job market

53
Schools

48
Low hazard

29

What this shows Lexington-Fayette's strongest dimensions are safety and air quality; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 29/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Lexington-Fayette to

Niles North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota Norwich-New London-Willimantic Ocala Odessa Ogden

Metros near Lexington-Fayette on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Lexington-Fayette on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Lexington-Fayette cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Lexington-Fayette wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Lexington-Fayette?

Lexington-Fayette runs a $68,636 median salary at a 92.9 cost index, ranking #150 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Lexington-Fayette's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Lexington-Fayette head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Lexington-Fayette
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.