Cost of living comparison
compared to
Wisconsin vs. Kentucky Cost of Living Summary
Wisconsin is 2.6% more expensive than Kentucky.
Wisconsin vs. Kentucky Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Wisconsin instead of Kentucky, you would:
pay 12.0% more for restaurants
|
Kentucky
|
Wisconsin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.79
|
$16.96
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.20
|
$10.29
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.64
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.86
|
$1.87
|
|
Kentucky vs. Wisconsin - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.7% less for groceries
|
Kentucky
|
Wisconsin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.91
|
$2.99
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.53
|
$5.60
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.21
|
$3.16
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.45
|
$3.75
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.99
|
$4.96
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.52
|
$2.16
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.72
|
$0.68
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.87
|
$1.59
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.06
|
$2.19
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$0.93
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.31
|
|
Kentucky vs. Wisconsin - Cost of groceries
pay 4.8% more for transportation
|
Kentucky
|
Wisconsin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$3.52
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$39.17
|
$50.22
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,400.12
|
$32,142.07
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.39
|
$17.59
|
|
Kentucky vs. Wisconsin - Cost of transportation
pay 4.1% more for housing
|
Kentucky
|
Wisconsin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.67
|
$63.31
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,182.82
|
$1,248.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$938.27
|
$984.41
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.63
|
$143.84
|
|
Kentucky vs. Wisconsin - Cost of housing
pay 4.2% more for childcare
|
Kentucky
|
Wisconsin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,588.30
|
$1,398.68
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$21,365.71
|
$26,322.35
|
|
Kentucky vs. Wisconsin - Cost of childcare
pay 6.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Kentucky
|
Wisconsin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.28
|
$4.93
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.13
|
$5.27
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$9.95
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$32.58
|
$44.19
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.88
|
$11.78
|
|
Kentucky vs. Wisconsin - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.8% less for clothing
|
Kentucky
|
Wisconsin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.64
|
$49.95
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.27
|
$41.09
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.99
|
$83.98
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$111.74
|
$96.26
|
|
Kentucky vs. Wisconsin - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Kentucky vs. Wisconsin
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Wisconsin?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 15 statistics
Be 33.8% less likely to live below the poverty line in Wisconsin
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Kentucky is about 1.4 times smaller than Wisconsin.
→
Moving from Kentucky to Wisconsin · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
Explore more U.S. state comparisons
See how other U.S. states compare.
Browse all state comparisons.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Wisconsin or Kentucky. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.