Compare / Louisville to Winston-Salem
Louisville, KY vs Winston-Salem, NC
Simple answer
You'd likely save $56 a month in Louisville.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 7.2 points (Louisville 78.6, Winston-Salem 71.4).
Kentucky taxes wages at a flat 3.50%. North Carolina taxes wages at a flat 3.99%. Combined sales tax differs by 1.0 percentage points, higher in North Carolina. The effective property tax gap is 0.10 percentage points, higher in Kentucky.
After a move from Kentucky to North Carolina, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.
A $75,000 salary in Louisville lines up with about $74,169 in Winston-Salem on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Louisville
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,276
- HUD area
- Louisville, KY-IN HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,140
- All-items price parity
- 93.1
- Goods price parity
- 96.2
- Utilities price parity
- 75.0
- Mean commute
- 25.1 min
- Median household income
- $74,305
Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, NC
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,332
- HUD area
- Winston-Salem, NC HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,102
- All-items price parity
- 92.0
- Goods price parity
- 96.6
- Utilities price parity
- 88.4
- Mean commute
- 23.8 min
- Median household income
- $65,903
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$74,169
Salary in Winston-Salem that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$72,939
Gross salary in Winston-Salem whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$78,292
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Kentucky | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | 3.50% flat | 3.99% flat |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 6.0% | 7.0% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.71% | 0.61% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $2,851 a year in Kentucky and $2,455 in North Carolina. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in North Carolina
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Kentucky and once in North Carolina. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
LouisvilleLikely eligible
Winston-SalemLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
LouisvilleLikely eligible
Winston-SalemLikely eligible
WIC
LouisvilleLikely eligible
Winston-SalemLikely eligible
School meals
LouisvilleLikely eligible
Winston-SalemLikely eligible
LIHEAP
LouisvilleMaybe
Winston-SalemMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
LouisvilleLikely eligible
Winston-SalemLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
LouisvilleLikely eligible
Winston-SalemLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
LouisvilleUnlikely
Winston-SalemUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
LouisvilleLikely eligible
Winston-SalemLikely eligible
SSI
LouisvilleUnlikely
Winston-SalemUnlikely
| Program | Louisville | Winston-Salem |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.
Related comparisons
From Louisville
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Louisville.
- Louisville and San Francisco · rent gap $2,421
- Louisville and San Jose · rent gap $1,996
- Louisville and Boston · rent gap $1,732
- Louisville and New York · rent gap $1,695
- Louisville and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,688
- Louisville and San Diego · rent gap $1,547
- Louisville and Miami · rent gap $1,288
- Louisville and Seattle · rent gap $1,273
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.