Moving from Kentucky to Texas: Cost & Tax Comparison
Compare state income tax savings, HUD rent differentials, and household purchasing power adjustments when relocating from Kentucky to Texas.
Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology
What changes when you move from Kentucky to Texas
Kentucky has a flat 3.5% income tax and Texas has no state income tax on wages. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,382 in state income tax in Kentucky and $0 in state income tax in Texas. With federal income tax and FICA unchanged, total tax falls by $3,382 a year after the move. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent averages $884 a month across Kentucky's metro areas and $1,035 across Texas's (+17.1%). Pay differs too: the BLS median wage across all occupations, weighted by employment in each state's metros, is $47,891 in Kentucky and $49,204 in Texas. City and county income taxes, which some localities add, are not included in these state-level figures; the metro routes below include them.
Metropolitan Corridors Between Kentucky & Texas
Moving from Kentucky to Texas on a $100,000 salary: pay $3,382 less in total taxes per year; average one-bedroom rent is $1,035 vs $884 a month (HUD FMR).
Quick answers
For a single filer earning $100,000 with no local income tax, total federal, FICA and state taxes are $3,382 lower in Texas than in Kentucky (3.4 percentage points of gross pay). The average HUD one-bedroom Fair Market Rent across Texas's metros is $1,035 a month, versus $884 in Kentucky (+17.1%). Taxes and one-bedroom rent combined change by +$1,570 a year.
Kentucky: Flat Tax, top rate 3.5%. Texas: No State Income Tax, top rate 0%. Federal income tax and FICA are the same in both states.