Kentucky vs Tennessee

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 in Kentucky is worth

$110,865

at national prices · RPP 90.2BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

The same income in Tennessee is worth

$108,814

at national prices · RPP 91.9BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes −$2,051 less far in Tennessee (−1.8% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

Kentucky: $100,000 ÷ (90.2 ÷ 100) = $110,865

Tennessee: $100,000 ÷ (91.9 ÷ 100) = $108,814

difference: $108,814 − $110,865 = −$2,051

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
Component	Kentucky	Tennessee	Difference
All items	90.2	91.9	+1.9%
Housing rents	64.3	79.1	+23.0%
Goods	96.0	96.2	+0.2%
Utilities	75.3	72.1	−4.2%
Other services	97.3	95.1	−2.3%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.

KentuckyMedian rent$967/moMedian home$205,600

TennesseeMedian rent$1,189/moMedian home$286,700

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Income and sales tax for the two states.
Tax	Kentucky	Tennessee
Income tax (top rate)	3.50%	None
Sales tax (combined avg)	6.00%	9.61%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

Kentucky vs Tennessee: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from Kentucky to Tennessee and its purchasing power changes from $110,865 to $108,814 in national-average terms — a loss of $2,051. Kentucky is the cheaper of the two, running at 90.2 on the price index versus 91.9.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is housing rents: Kentucky sits at 64.3 and Tennessee at 79.1 (100 = national). Kentucky has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $967 in Kentucky against $1,189 in Tennessee, and the typical home $205,600 versus $286,700. Kentucky is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, Kentucky has 3.50% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 6.00%; Tennessee has no wage income tax and 9.61%. That income-tax difference can outweigh a chunk of the cost-of-living gap for higher earners.

Full profiles: Kentucky ·Tennessee. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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