Paducah composite
70.0 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Paducah vs Walla Walla
Paducah, KY-IL and Walla Walla, WA 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.
- 70.0
- Paducah Life Score
- A+
- Paducah grade
- 49.6
- Walla Walla Life Score
- B-
- Walla Walla grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Paducah scores higher on 4 (cost of living, rent, safety, childcare) and Walla Walla on 3 (wages, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Paducah vs Walla Walla 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.
◖ Paducah Walla Walla ◗
cost of living
94
26
wages
22
77
rent
96
28
safety
77
45
schools
53
73
childcare
88
11
environment
68
94
Paducah and Walla Walla differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Paducah has a cost-of-living index of 86.1 vs Walla Walla's 98.5 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $62,516 in Paducah and $71,001 in Walla Walla. A 2-bedroom averages $969/mo vs $1,550/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Paducah vs Walla Walla Comparison
Paducah (KY) and Walla Walla (WA) 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 86.1 for Paducah against 98.5 for Walla Walla, a 12.4-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 $969/mo in Paducah and $1,550/mo in Walla Walla, a $581/mo difference that compounds to $6,972 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $62,516 across 43,110 jobs in Paducah against $71,001 across 19,680 jobs in Walla Walla. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Paducah carries the same local purchasing power as $114,445 in Walla Walla - 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 225.5 per 100,000 residents in KY vs 329.3 in WA, with property-crime rates of 1397.1 and 2498.3 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: KY lists 1,395 public schools at a 15.2:1 student-teacher ratio, while WA lists 2,465 schools at 17.6:1, 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 $7,238/yr in the Paducah area versus $15,987/yr in Walla Walla - 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, Paducah and Walla Walla 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.
Walla Walla composite
49.6 /100
Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-12.4 pts
Paducah vs Walla Walla BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$581 /mo
Walla Walla priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Paducah
Paducah composite (Grade A+)
Walla Walla
Walla Walla composite (Grade B-)
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 | Paducah | Walla Walla |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 86.1 | 98.5 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 105.0 |
| Services | 76.9 | 94.3 |
| Rents | 48.8 | 86.6 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Walla Walla gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Paducah?
$
Equivalent in Walla Walla:
$114,445
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Paducah: 86.1, Walla Walla: 98.5, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Paducah | Walla Walla |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $784/mo | $1,074/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $789/mo | $1,181/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $969/mo | $1,550/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,348/mo | $2,118/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,415/mo | $2,600/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Paducah | Walla Walla |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $62,516 | $71,001 |
| Total Employment | 43,110 | 19,680 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Paducah (KY) | Walla Walla (WA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 225.5 | 329.3 |
| Property Crime | 1397.1 | 2498.3 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | KY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,395 | 2,465 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 15.2:1 | 17.6:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.0% | 0.6% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | KY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,238/yr | $15,987/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $6,605/yr | $12,531/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,605/yr | $12,531/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | KY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 489 | 367 |
| Water Systems | 376 | 2,397 |
| Superfund Sites | 20 | 69 |
| Water Violations | 1,788 | 2,705 |
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 | Paducah | Walla Walla |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 43.0 | 38.0 |
| Good Air Days | 74.0% | 83.9% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | KY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 1/100 | 10/100 |
| Total Violations | 80,482 | 314,648 |
| Health-Based Violations | 12,554 | 20,590 |
| Systems with Violations | 99.1% | 92.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | KY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 687 | 597 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | KY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 71/100 | 37/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 44.2 | 70.0 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 41.4 | 69.0 |
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 Paducah more expensive than Walla Walla? ▼
Paducah has a cost of living index of 86.1 compared to Walla Walla's 98.5 (national average = 100). Walla Walla is 12.4 points above Paducah on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Paducah and Walla Walla? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $969/mo in Paducah vs $1,550/mo in Walla Walla, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $784/mo to $1,074/mo.
How do salaries compare between Paducah and Walla Walla? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $62,516 in Paducah and $71,001 in Walla Walla, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Paducah has the same purchasing power as $114,445 in Walla Walla.
Is Paducah or Walla Walla safer? ▼
At the state level, KY has a violent crime rate of 225.5 per 100,000 residents compared to WA's 329.3 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1397.1 vs 2498.3 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Paducah and Walla Walla? ▼
KY has 1,395 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.2:1, while WA has 2,465 schools at 17.6:1. Charter schools make up 0.0% of KY schools vs 0.6% in WA. 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