Indiana and Kentucky at a glance
Indiana and Kentucky share a border, but a paycheck does not travel across it unchanged. A $60,000 salary leaves $28,806 a year after taxes and the four basics in Indiana and $29,937 in Kentucky.
Kentucky comes out ahead by $1,131 a year ($94 a month). The calculation starts from the same gross pay in both states, subtracts federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, then each state's own income tax, and then the population-weighted cost of a one-bedroom rental, groceries, home energy and gasoline across 6,851,073 people in 92 counties in Indiana and 4,534,824 people in 120 counties in Kentucky.
Taxes: what each paycheck loses
Federal income tax ($5,072) and FICA ($4,590) on $60,000 are the same on both sides of the border. State income tax takes $1,770 in Indiana and $2,269 in Kentucky, which leaves take-home pay of $48,569 and $48,069.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $75,931 in Indiana and $75,032 in Kentucky, a difference of $899. The gap widens with income because graduated state brackets take a growing share.
Living costs
One-bedroom rent averages $1,082 a month in Indiana and $946 in Kentucky, so Kentucky is $136 a month cheaper for housing. Food costs $3,436 a year in both, because the USDA Thrifty Food Plan is a national figure; home energy $1,927 and $1,874, and gasoline $1,421 and $1,470. Together the basics cost $19,762 a year in Indiana and $18,132 in Kentucky.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $71,957 in Indiana and $63,726 in Kentucky. Homeowners pay a median of $1,614 a year in property tax in Indiana and $1,544 in Kentucky. Commuters travel 24.1 minutes each way on average in Indiana and 24.0 in Kentucky.
Method
Taxes use the 2025 rules for a single filer with wage income only and the standard deduction. Housing and living costs are county figures from HUD (one-bedroom Fair Market Rent), the USDA Thrifty Food Plan and state energy prices from the Energy Information Administration, averaged across each state's counties and weighted by population, so large counties count more. Local income taxes are not included. Counties differ widely inside every state, so use the county pages for a specific place.