Tennessee vs Kentucky: which really costs more?
Neighbors on opposite sides of the income tax question, with a heavily-crossed border.
Income tax shown is the effective state rate on a $75,000 salary for a single filer; sales tax is the combined state and local rate in each state's representative county. Both figures come from the same verified datasets the calculator uses.
What things actually cost in each
Gross income required at a $75,000 salary, using each category's default assumptions — sorted by the biggest difference between the two states.
| Category | Tennessee | Kentucky | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | $1,127,810 | $1,194,799 | $66,988 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Car purchase | $133,414 | $137,815 | $4,401 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Car payment or lease | $16,529 | $17,394 | $865 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Wedding | $46,742 | $47,593 | $851 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Funeral | $11,372 | $11,967 | $595 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Phone plan | $9,794 | $10,307 | $513 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Coffee habit | $25,622 | $26,076 | $453 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Rent | $2,559 | $2,693 | $134 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Childcare | $1,564 | $1,645 | $82 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Hotel stay | $994 | $1,046 | $52 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Pet annual cost | $2,412 | $2,455 | $43 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Health insurance premium | $640 | $673 | $33 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Laptop or phone purchase | $1,870 | $1,903 | $33 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Student loan payment | $569 | $598 | $30 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Domestic flight | $466 | $490 | $24 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Utilities | $299 | $314 | $16 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Car insurance | $235 | $247 | $12 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Cannabis (legal states) | $101 | $106 | $5 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Internet service | $100 | $105 | $5 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Concert ticket | $213 | $217 | $5 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Gas fill-up | $64 | $67 | $3 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Haircut | $60 | $63 | $3 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Restaurant dinner | $150 | $152 | $3 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Food delivery | $55 | $57 | $2 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Rideshare trip | $31 | $33 | $2 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Pizza delivery | $58 | $59 | $2 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Gym membership | $70 | $71 | $1 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Streaming bundle | $70 | $71 | $1 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Soft drinks | $37 | $38 | $1 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Weekly groceries | $262 | $262 | $1 cheaper in Kentucky |
| Fast food meal | $19 | $19 | $0 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Bar drink | $17 | $17 | $0 cheaper in Tennessee |
| Cigarettes or vape | $14 | $14 | $0 cheaper in Tennessee |
Across the 33 categories we can compute for both states, Tennessee comes out cheaper more often. That is not the whole picture — housing costs, wages, and property tax vary far more than sales tax does, and none of those are modeled here. See limitations.