What is the cost of living in Louisville/Jefferson County?

Louisville/Jefferson County has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 93.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 78.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,272/month.

What is the median salary in Louisville/Jefferson County?

The median salary in Louisville/Jefferson County is $66,989 annually (mean: $70,175). Top occupations include Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Louisville/Jefferson County?

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

What are the schools like in Louisville/Jefferson County?

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 Louisville/Jefferson County?

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

Is Louisville/Jefferson County a good place to relocate?

Louisville/Jefferson County has a Life Score of 59.8/100 (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, Louisville/Jefferson County outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Louisville/Jefferson County sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Louisville/Jefferson County ranks #194 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

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

BEA RPP 93.1 sits mid-pack (#181 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

93.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,272
2BR rent / mo: $66,989
Median salary: 51.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Louisville/Jefferson County ranks #194 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (51.5/100), with its strongest marks in safety and climate.

#194
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: air quality (18/100). 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), Louisville/Jefferson County ranks #194 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 93.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,272/mo, median salary $66,989; LiveAbility Score 51.5/100, strongest in safety and climate.

Signature: BEA RPP 93.1 sits mid-pack (#181 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 93.1 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,272/mo.

LiveAbility 51.5/100 keeps Louisville/Jefferson County in the middle third (#194 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Louisville/Jefferson County area is 667,710.

Louisville/Jefferson County 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)

52 Top 50% higher than 50% 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

Louisville/Jefferson County housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Louisville/Jefferson County MSA; housing RPP 78.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,272/mo.

Studio

$966

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,047

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,272

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,625

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,891

/month

Louisville/Jefferson County wages and employment

Louisville/Jefferson County posts 667,710 total employment with median salary $66,989.

Median Salary

$66,989

Mean Salary

$70,175

Total Employment

667,710

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$46,830
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$48,440
Registered Nurses	$84,850
Retail Salespersons	$30,660
General and Operations Managers	$89,140

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Louisville/Jefferson County area from NCES.

Schools

1,395

Enrollment

651,902

Student:Teacher

15.2:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Louisville/Jefferson County area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,238

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,605

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,605

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Louisville/Jefferson County's composite Life Score is 59.8/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

53/100

Average

Wages

52/100

Average

Rent

54/100

Average

Crime

77/100

Strong

Schools

52/100

Average

Childcare

89/100

Elite

Environment

50/100

Average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Louisville/Jefferson County ranks #194 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 51.5/100 - 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
Climate

78
Housing

54
Cost of living

53
Job market

52
Schools

48
Low hazard

28
Air quality

18

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

Compare Louisville/Jefferson County to

Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury Brownsville-Harlingen Brunswick-St. Simons Buffalo-Cheektowaga Burlington Burlington-South Burlington

Metros near Louisville/Jefferson County on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Louisville/Jefferson County 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

Louisville/Jefferson County cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Louisville/Jefferson County 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 Louisville/Jefferson County?

Louisville/Jefferson County runs a $66,989 median salary at a 93.1 cost index, ranking #194 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Louisville/Jefferson County's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Louisville/Jefferson County head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Louisville/Jefferson County
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.