2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to Lexington-Fayette, KY

Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs for a move from New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Lexington-Fayette, KY.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$53,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-46.4%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$2,168
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$18,288
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$20,456/yr
Tax + housing gain

Interactive Purchasing Power Equivalency Workbench

Adjust your current salary at origin to dynamically compute the statutory tax burden, housing costs, and discretionary cash in both markets.

Presets:
$
$30,000 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000
Origin Location

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

COL 181.0
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,860
Local / City Tax -$3,441
Net Annual Take-Home $70,879
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$32,748
Discretionary Cash Flow $38,131
Target Market
Destination Location

Lexington-Fayette, KY

COL 96.9
Gross Parity Income $53,600
Federal Income Tax -$4,252
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$4,100
State Income Tax -$1,758
Local / City Tax -$1,474
Net Annual Take-Home $42,015
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,460
Discretionary Cash Flow $27,555

EPI family budgets put living costs 46.4% lower in Lexington-Fayette, KY than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, so $100,000 in New York goes about as far as $53,600 in Lexington. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,729 a month in New York and $1,205 in Lexington, $18,288 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $2,168 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Lexington. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $20,456 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $61,430 in New York and $48,620 in Lexington.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category New York-Newark-Jersey City (Monthly) Lexington-Fayette (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,729$1,205-$1,524-55.8%
Food & Groceries$426$343-$83-19.5%
Transportation$693$1,030+$337+48.6%
Healthcare$748$444-$304-40.6%
Other Necessities$879$354-$525-59.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,427$2,246-$181-7.5%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,524/mo (-55.8%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo Lexington-Fayette: $1,205/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,555/mo (-52.3%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo Lexington-Fayette: $1,416/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$18.59/hr (-46.4%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr Lexington-Fayette: $21.44/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$13.77/hr (-40.3%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr Lexington-Fayette: $20.42/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector New York-Newark-Jersey City Median Lexington-Fayette Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$119,720$79,040-$40,680 (-34.0%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$157,000$80,440-$76,560 (-48.8%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$166,830$123,510-$43,320 (-26.0%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$105,650$77,780-$27,870 (-26.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$221,010$135,760-$85,250 (-38.6%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$126,660$84,520-$42,140 (-33.3%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$124,390$99,190-$25,200 (-20.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,300$144,160-$71,140 (-33.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$192,840$127,040-$65,800 (-34.1%)View Dossier
Financial AnalystFinanceFinance$128,930$81,410-$47,520 (-36.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,150$124,860-$90,290 (-42.0%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$79,020$57,320-$21,700 (-27.5%)View Dossier

Major US Inter-Metro Relocation Corridors

Empirical cost differentials and statutory tax savings across high-volume migration routes.

New York-Newark-Jersey City → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $14,388 less 1BR rent a year

-30.6% COL+$22,689/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $6,211 less tax and $17,676 less 1BR rent a year

-30.4% COL+$23,887/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

On $100k: $4,805 less tax and $2,928 less 1BR rent a year

-2.2% COL+$7,733/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Columbus

On $100k: $1,729 less tax and $19,884 less 1BR rent a year

-41.0% COL+$21,613/yr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

On $100k: $4,113 less tax and $10,908 less 1BR rent a year

-13.5% COL+$15,021/yr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue → Denver-Aurora-Centennial

On $100k: $3,761 more tax and $4,188 less 1BR rent a year

-13.6% COL+$427/yr
Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Raleigh-Cary

On $100k: $1,299 less tax and $11,592 less 1BR rent a year

-16.2% COL+$12,891/yr
New York-Newark-Jersey City → Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $7,296 less 1BR rent a year

-27.3% COL+$15,597/yr

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Lexington-Fayette, KY Relocation FAQs

About $53,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 96.9 in Lexington-Fayette, KY, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Lexington-Fayette, KY: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Lexington-Fayette, KY to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to Lexington-Fayette, KY Overview

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Lexington-Fayette, KY: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to Lexington-Fayette, KY compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Lexington-Fayette, KY to match $100,000 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

About $53,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 96.9 in Lexington-Fayette, KY, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Lexington-Fayette, KY cheaper than New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 46.4% lower in Lexington-Fayette, KY than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.