How much do households in Kentucky spend on rent?
Refreshed 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.
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Which Kentucky metros have the most and least affordable rent?
Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 31.2% in 2020–2024.
Highlighting metro areas where at least one primary county is in Kentucky
In 2020–2024, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 31.2%. 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 51.8% (highest) and the Jefferson City, MO area, at 22.3% (lowest). In Kentucky, the highest and lowest were the Huntington, WV area at 33.2% and the Elizabethtown, KY area at 23.2%.
During that period, the Lexington, KY area had the highest median rent at $1,138 per month and third highest median monthly income at $3,719 out of eight Kentucky metro areas. It’s rent-to-income ratio was second highest in Kentucky.
Renter income and rent, Kentucky metro areas (2020–2024)
Metro areas where at least one of the primary counties is within Kentucky
| 1. | $4,161 | |
| 2. | $3,761 | |
| 3. | $3,719 | |
| 4. | $3,696 | |
| 5. | $3,418 | |
| 6. | $3,219 | |
| 7. | $2,925 | |
| 8. | $2,664 |
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
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.
