Hilton Head Island composite
41.9 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Hilton Head Island vs Paducah
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC and Paducah, KY-IL side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 41.9
- Hilton Head Island Life Score
- C
- Hilton Head Island grade
- 70.0
- Paducah Life Score
- A+
- Paducah grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Hilton Head Island scores higher on 2 (wages, safety) and Paducah on 5 (cost of living, rent, schools, childcare, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Hilton Head Island vs Paducah across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Hilton Head Island Paducah ◗
cost of living
29
94
wages
29
22
rent
14
96
safety
97
77
schools
27
53
childcare
70
88
environment
39
68
Hilton Head Island and Paducah differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Hilton Head Island has a cost-of-living index of 98.0 vs Paducah's 86.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $63,019 in Hilton Head Island and $62,516 in Paducah. A 2-bedroom averages $1,816/mo vs $969/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Hilton Head Island vs Paducah Comparison
Hilton Head Island (SC) and Paducah (KY) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 98.0 for Hilton Head Island against 86.1 for Paducah, a 11.9-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,816/mo in Hilton Head Island and $969/mo in Paducah, a $847/mo difference that compounds to $10,164 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $63,019 across 77,390 jobs in Hilton Head Island against $62,516 across 43,110 jobs in Paducah. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Hilton Head Island carries the same local purchasing power as $87,826 in Paducah - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 439.3 per 100,000 residents in SC vs 225.5 in KY, with property-crime rates of 1988.2 and 1397.1 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: SC lists 1,215 public schools at a 14.3:1 student-teacher ratio, while KY lists 1,395 schools at 15.2:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,732/yr in the Hilton Head Island area versus $7,238/yr in Paducah - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Hilton Head Island and Paducah are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Paducah composite
70.0 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
11.9 pts
Hilton Head Island vs Paducah BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$847 /mo
Hilton Head Island priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head Island composite (Grade C)
Paducah
Paducah composite (Grade A+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Hilton Head Island | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 98.0 | 86.1 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.0 |
| Services | 88.1 | 76.9 |
| Rents | 101.2 | 48.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Paducah gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Hilton Head Island?
$
Equivalent in Paducah:
$87,826
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Hilton Head Island: 98.0, Paducah: 86.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Hilton Head Island | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,582/mo | $784/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,657/mo | $789/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,816/mo | $969/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,177/mo | $1,348/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,720/mo | $1,415/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Hilton Head Island | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $63,019 | $62,516 |
| Total Employment | 77,390 | 43,110 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Hilton Head Island (SC) | Paducah (KY) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 439.3 | 225.5 |
| Property Crime | 1988.2 | 1397.1 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | SC | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,215 | 1,395 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.3:1 | 15.2:1 |
| Charter Schools | 7.2% | 0.0% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | SC | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,732/yr | $7,238/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,449/yr | $6,605/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,402/yr | $6,605/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | SC | KY |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 660 | 489 |
| Water Systems | 557 | 376 |
| Superfund Sites | 34 | 20 |
| Water Violations | 647 | 1,788 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Hilton Head Island | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 43.4 | 43.0 |
| Good Air Days | 70.8% | 74.0% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | N/A | 1 days |
Hilton Head Island air quality shown at state level. Paducah has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | SC | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 45/100 | 1/100 |
| Total Violations | 38,355 | 80,482 |
| Health-Based Violations | 9,705 | 12,554 |
| Systems with Violations | 65.3% | 99.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | SC | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 264 | 687 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | SC | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 36/100 | 71/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 70.7 | 44.2 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 65.2 | 41.4 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hilton Head Island more expensive than Paducah? ▼
Hilton Head Island has a cost of living index of 98.0 compared to Paducah's 86.1 (national average = 100). Hilton Head Island is 11.9 points above Paducah on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Hilton Head Island and Paducah? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,816/mo in Hilton Head Island vs $969/mo in Paducah, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,582/mo to $784/mo.
How do salaries compare between Hilton Head Island and Paducah? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $63,019 in Hilton Head Island and $62,516 in Paducah, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Hilton Head Island has the same purchasing power as $87,826 in Paducah.
Is Hilton Head Island or Paducah safer? ▼
At the state level, SC has a violent crime rate of 439.3 per 100,000 residents compared to KY's 225.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1988.2 vs 1397.1 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Hilton Head Island and Paducah? ▼
SC has 1,215 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.3:1, while KY has 1,395 schools at 15.2:1. Charter schools make up 7.2% of SC schools vs 0.0% in KY. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial