Lexington-Fayette → Flagstaff
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Lexington-Fayette to Flagstaff is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 92.9 to 100.3 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $649/mo.
- -$2,630
- BLS median salary lower in Flagstaff
- 225 to 429
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.2:1 to 17:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,063
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Flagstaff
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Cons of Moving
- - 7% higher cost of living
- - $649/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - $3K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More expensive childcare
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 92.9 to 100.3, so the same paycheck buys less in Flagstaff (ratio 1.08). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $649/mo ($7,788/yr) from $1,272 in Lexington-Fayette to $1,921 in Flagstaff.
Lexington-Fayette still leads on 7 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Flagstaff sits #360 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Lexington-Fayette is #150/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,630 lower ($68,636 → $66,006). Labor-market size: 274,970 tracked jobs at origin vs 58,590 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Kentucky scores 68 (C, #11/51) vs Arizona at 53 (D, #37/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 72
- Property tax
- 73
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 38
- Income tax
- 82
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 22
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Lexington-Fayette to see what you'd need to earn in Flagstaff to maintain the same purchasing power.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026