Moving to Kentucky from Louisiana
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Louisiana to Kentucky — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Louisiana to Kentucky, you would find that Kentucky is 3.0% cheaper than Louisiana. A $75,000 salary in Louisiana would need to be roughly $72,700 in Kentucky to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Louisville averages 68°F vs 77°F in New Orleans, making it significantly cooler. New Orleans and Louisville are about 620 mi apart.
Is Kentucky cheaper than Louisiana?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 17.3% less
Groceries
pay 4.2% less
Transportation
pay 4.8% less
Housing
pay 3.8% less
Childcare
pay 44.1% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.4% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Kentucky?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $72,700
To maintain the same standard of living in Kentucky
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
How Louisiana and Kentucky stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Kentucky performs significantly better than Louisiana across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Kentucky performs significantly better than Louisiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Kentucky performs significantly better than Louisiana across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Kentucky performs significantly better than Louisiana across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Kentucky generally does better on employment & economy, though Louisiana leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Kentucky performs significantly better than Louisiana across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Kentucky vs Louisiana
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | New Orleans | Louisville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 65°/51°F (18°/10°C) | 50°/32°F (10°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 84°/70°F (29°/21°C) | 77°/57°F (25°/14°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/77°F (32°/25°C) | 86°/66°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 71°/57°F (21°/14°C) | 58°/40°F (14°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | New Orleans | Louisville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60°/46°F (15.6°/8.0°C) | 43°/27°F (6.1°/-2.9°C) |
| Feb | 64°/50°F (17.9°/9.9°C) | 48°/30°F (8.8°/-1.2°C) |
| Mar | 71°/56°F (21.4°/13.3°C) | 58°/38°F (14.4°/3.2°C) |
| Apr | 77°/63°F (25.2°/17.1°C) | 69°/47°F (20.4°/8.5°C) |
| May | 85°/71°F (29.2°/21.5°C) | 77°/57°F (25.1°/13.9°C) |
| Jun | 89°/76°F (31.8°/24.4°C) | 85°/66°F (29.6°/18.9°C) |
| Jul | 90°/78°F (32.5°/25.5°C) | 89°/70°F (31.5°/21.1°C) |
| Aug | 91°/78°F (32.7°/25.7°C) | 88°/69°F (31.3°/20.3°C) |
| Sep | 87°/75°F (30.4°/23.7°C) | 82°/60°F (27.5°/15.8°C) |
| Oct | 79°/66°F (25.9°/18.9°C) | 70°/49°F (21.2°/9.4°C) |
| Nov | 71°/57°F (21.5°/13.7°C) | 58°/40°F (14.4°/4.2°C) |
| Dec | 63°/49°F (17.0°/9.3°C) | 46°/30°F (7.7°/-1.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Kentucky than Louisiana?
Generally yes: Kentucky runs about 3% cheaper than Louisiana on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Kentucky?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $18,175 in Kentucky for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Kentucky safe?
Kentucky performs significantly better than Louisiana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Kentucky compared to Louisiana?
Kentucky performs significantly better than Louisiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Kentucky compared to Louisiana?
The average high temperature in Louisville is 68°F, compared to 77°F in New Orleans. Louisville receives around 44.9 in of rainfall per year, while New Orleans gets 56.8 in.
