Cincinnati vs Lexington-Fayette urban county: housing and local cost comparison
Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY carries the higher modeled overall cost index (97 vs 92; roughly 5 points). Cincinnati, OH is the lower-index side of this pair.
Where the gap shows up.
Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY carries the higher modeled overall cost index (97 vs 92; roughly 5 points). Cincinnati, OH is the lower-index side of this pair.
Typical home value is $249,297 in Cincinnati, OH and $293,500 in Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY. Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY is about 18% higher than the lower-priced side on this committed estimate.
Committed monthly rent input is $1,414/mo in Cincinnati, OH and $1,416/mo in Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY; Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY is $2/mo higher. HUD FMR is a 40th-percentile recent-mover gross rent that includes tenant-paid utilities. It is a program benchmark for the named HUD area, not a market median, an asking rent, or Zillow ZORI.
Among the committed BEA price parities available for both cities, the values differ most on utilities (3 index points) and least on services (1 index point). Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY uses the national nonmetropolitan BEA fallback, not a local price survey; read that value as a planning fallback. Tax rows are state-level context and follow each place’s state, not its specific parcel or filing situation.
Cincinnati vs Lexington-Fayette urban county at a glance.
Every row keeps its committed source, year, geography, and fallback/proxy limit. Difference is column B minus column A; it does not declare a winner.
| Measure | Cincinnati, OH | Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY | Difference (B − A) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall cost indexModeled index with 100 = U.S. baseline; housing 35%, rent 15%, goods 20%, services 20%, utilities 10%. Where a BEA price-parity component is missing, the model keeps the 100 baseline rather than inventing a local value. | 92 | 97 | +5 pts |
| Typical home valueZillow ZHVI · Aug 2026 for Cincinnati; Census ACS 2024 for Lexington-Fayette urban county. | $249,297 | $293,500 | +$44,203 |
| Monthly rent inputZillow ZORI · Aug 2026 for Cincinnati; HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR · Fayette County FMR area for Lexington-Fayette urban county. HUD FMR is a 40th-percentile recent-mover gross rent that includes tenant-paid utilities. It is a program benchmark for the named HUD area, not a market median, an asking rent, or Zillow ZORI. | $1,414/mo | $1,416/mo | +$2/mo |
| Home value / local incomeTypical home value divided by the place median household income. Unavailable when either side is missing or top-coded. | 4.7x | 4.2x | -0.5x |
| Rent as a share of local incomeTypical annual rent input divided by the place median household income, before tax and other costs. | 32% | 24% | -7.6 pts |
| Goods price parityBEA regional price parity for goods; 100 = national average. Cincinnati: committed metro-area (MSA) price parity. Lexington-Fayette urban county: national nonmetropolitan fallback, not a local price survey. | 94 (metro) | 96 (national nonmetro fallback) | +2 pts |
| Services price parityBEA regional price parity for services; 100 = national average. Cincinnati: committed metro-area (MSA) price parity. Lexington-Fayette urban county: national nonmetropolitan fallback, not a local price survey. | 99 (metro) | 98 (national nonmetro fallback) | -1 pts |
| Utilities price parityBEA regional price parity for utilities; 100 = national average. Cincinnati: committed metro-area (MSA) price parity. Lexington-Fayette urban county: national nonmetropolitan fallback, not a local price survey. | 91 (metro) | 88 (national nonmetro fallback) | -3 pts |
| Top state income-tax rateState context only, not an individual filing result. | 2.75% | 3.5% | +0.75 pts |
| State + average local sales taxState rate plus average local rate; a reference, not a checkout rate. | 7.3% | 6% | -1.30 pts |
| Property-tax proxyState-level effective owner-occupied property-tax proxy, not a parcel or individual tax bill. | 1.36% | 0.74% | -0.62 pts |
| Housing pressure at local median income (renting)Existing housing-burden screen run at each city’s own median household income and committed rent input. Not a personal result. | Tight · 32% of income | Comfortable · 24% of income | -8 pts |
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Where these numbers come from.
Zillow Research ZHVI and ZORI (City Level) (ZHVI 2026-08; ZORI 2026-08). Where a city has no ZORI match, the rent input falls back to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fair Market Rents (FMRs) (FY2027): a HUD Fair Market Rent is a 40th-percentile recent-mover gross rent that includes tenant-paid utilities, a program benchmark for the named HUD area and not a market median, an asking rent, or ZORI. Otherwise the place-level Census ACS estimate is used. Each row names the source that actually fed it.
U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates (2024) for place median household income. BEA Regional Price Parities (2024) for goods, services, and utilities price parities: committed metro (MSA) values where matched, otherwise the national nonmetropolitan fallback, which is not a city-specific price survey. A city with no committed BEA match shows Not provided instead of an observed 100, and the modeled overall index keeps its 100 baseline for those components.
Income top rate 2026; sales tax midyear 2026; property-tax proxy Tax Foundation 2026 edition, based on 2024 ACS. These are state-level comparisons, not parcel or individual filing results.
Reuses the existing household scenario result logic from the city page. A planning scenario based on stated thresholds, not approval, underwriting, or personal financial advice. It does not deduct income tax, payroll tax, food, healthcare, childcare, or other living costs.
These are planning estimates built from committed public data snapshots. Local listings, parcel taxes, insurance quotes, and lender terms can differ. Curated pairs are selected only from committed city population and modeled cost data by a documented similarity rule; no search-volume feed is used, and no ranking or guaranteed-indexing claim is made.
Read the full methodology