How much do households in Kentucky spend on rent?
Updated annually
About $998, or 29% of their income, in 2024. This is measured by comparing median, or average, rent and median monthly income for renting households.
$998
median monthly rent in Kentucky (2024)
29%
average share of income spent on rent in Kentucky (2024)
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates it’s more affordable.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of average monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Kentucky’s rent-to-income ratio was lower than the US overall in 2024.
Ratio of median gross rent to median renter household income
The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. In Kentucky, the rent-to-income ratio reached 33.4% that year. Most recently, in 2024, Kentucky’s rent-to-income ratio was 29%, 4 percentage points lower than the national rate.
Which Kentucky metros have the most and least affordable rent?
Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 30.9% in 2019–2023.
Highlighting metro areas where at least one primary county is in Kentucky
In 2019–2023, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 30.9%. Metro areas are made up of economically interconnected counties that include at least one urban area. A single metro area can include multiple cities and cross state lines. The metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios were the Ponce, PR area at 52.9% (highest) and the Sheboygan, WI area, at 20.7% (lowest). In Kentucky, the highest and lowest were the Huntington, WV area at 32.6% and the Elizabethtown, KY area at 23.1%.
During that period, the Lexington, KY area had the highest median rent at $1,070 per month and fourth highest median monthly income at $3,560 out of eight Kentucky metro areas. It’s rent-to-income ratio was third highest in Kentucky.
Renter income and rent, Kentucky metro areas (2019–2023)
Metro areas where at least one of the primary counties is within Kentucky
| 1. | Elizabethtown, KY area | $4,054 |
| 2. | Cincinnati, OH area | $3,611 |
| 3. | Louisville, KY area | $3,573 |
| 4. | Lexington, KY area | $3,560 |
| 5. | Bowling Green, KY area | $3,280 |
| 6. | Owensboro, KY area | $3,071 |
| 7. | Paducah, KY area | $2,781 |
| 8. | Huntington, WV area | $2,625 |
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
