Lexington vs Lincoln
Metro-area medians — Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area vs Lincoln, NE Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Lincoln comes out ahead, winning 8 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.
Lexington and Lincoln cost about the same to live in, but Lincoln households earn about 5% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Lincoln.
Their widest everyday difference: Lincoln has the tighter job market — 3.3% unemployment versus 4.6%.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you, Lincoln leaves you about $783/yr better off after tax and local prices.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
Choose Lincoln for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Median rent
- + Median home value
- + Unemployment
- + Average commute
- + Air quality (median AQI)
More comparisons
Metros closest to Lexington and Lincoln on cost, income, size, and education.
Lexington vs Lincoln — frequently asked
- Is Lexington cheaper than Lincoln?
- They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Lexington and Lincoln metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
- Which has higher household income, Lexington or Lincoln?
- Lincoln has the higher median household income — $74,935 versus $71,444 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 5% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Lexington or Lincoln?
- A paycheck stretches further in Lincoln. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $81,824 there versus $76,913 in Lexington.
- Which has cheaper rent, Lexington or Lincoln?
- Lincoln has cheaper rent — a median of $1,114/mo versus $1,245/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).