Joplin composite
51.7 /100
Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Joplin vs Paducah
Joplin, MO-KS 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.
- 51.7
- Joplin Life Score
- B-
- Joplin grade
- 70.0
- Paducah Life Score
- A+
- Paducah grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Joplin scores higher on 3 (cost of living, wages, rent) and Paducah on 4 (safety, schools, childcare, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Joplin 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.
◖ Joplin Paducah ◗
cost of living
97
94
wages
22
22
rent
99
96
safety
15
77
schools
12
53
childcare
0
88
environment
45
68
Joplin and Paducah differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Joplin has a cost-of-living index of 85.7 vs Paducah's 86.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $57,697 in Joplin and $62,516 in Paducah. A 2-bedroom averages $877/mo vs $969/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Joplin vs Paducah Comparison
Joplin (MO) 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 85.7 for Joplin against 86.1 for Paducah, a 0.4-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 $877/mo in Joplin and $969/mo in Paducah, a $92/mo difference that compounds to $1,104 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $57,697 across 77,720 jobs in Joplin against $62,516 across 43,110 jobs in Paducah. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Joplin carries the same local purchasing power as $100,427 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 463.3 per 100,000 residents in MO vs 225.5 in KY, with property-crime rates of 1971.6 and 1397.1 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: MO lists 2,321 public schools at a 12.8:1 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. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Joplin 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
-0.4 pts
Joplin vs Paducah BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$92 /mo
Paducah priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Joplin
Joplin composite (Grade B-)
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 | Joplin | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 85.7 | 86.1 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 96.0 |
| Services | 85.9 | 76.9 |
| Rents | 54.0 | 48.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Paducah gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Joplin?
$
Equivalent in Paducah:
$100,427
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Joplin: 85.7, Paducah: 86.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Joplin | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $664/mo | $784/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $668/mo | $789/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $877/mo | $969/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,157/mo | $1,348/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,161/mo | $1,415/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Joplin | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $57,697 | $62,516 |
| Total Employment | 77,720 | 43,110 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Joplin (MO) | Paducah (KY) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 463.3 | 225.5 |
| Property Crime | 1971.6 | 1397.1 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | MO | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,321 | 1,395 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 12.8:1 | 15.2:1 |
| Charter Schools | 3.5% | 0.0% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | MO | KY |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 621 | 489 |
| Water Systems | 1,666 | 376 |
| Superfund Sites | 39 | 20 |
| Water Violations | 6,246 | 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 | Joplin | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 41.0 | 43.0 |
| Good Air Days | 80.5% | 74.0% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 1 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | MO | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 6/100 | 1/100 |
| Total Violations | 201,695 | 80,482 |
| Health-Based Violations | 54,821 | 12,554 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.4% | 99.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | MO | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 883 | 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 | MO | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 62/100 | 71/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 50.6 | 44.2 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 50.8 | 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 Joplin more expensive than Paducah? ▼
Joplin has a cost of living index of 85.7 compared to Paducah's 86.1 (national average = 100). Paducah is 0.4 points above Joplin on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Joplin and Paducah? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $877/mo in Joplin vs $969/mo in Paducah, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $664/mo to $784/mo.
How do salaries compare between Joplin and Paducah? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $57,697 in Joplin and $62,516 in Paducah, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Joplin has the same purchasing power as $100,427 in Paducah.
Is Joplin or Paducah safer? ▼
At the state level, MO has a violent crime rate of 463.3 per 100,000 residents compared to KY's 225.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1971.6 vs 1397.1 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Joplin and Paducah? ▼
MO has 2,321 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.8:1, while KY has 1,395 schools at 15.2:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of MO 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
Explore more
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