Paducah composite
72.8 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Paducah vs Watertown
Paducah, KY-IL and Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 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.
- 72.8
- Paducah Life Score
- A+
- Paducah grade
- 46.4
- Watertown Life Score
- C+
- Watertown grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Paducah scores higher on 5 (cost of living, rent, safety, schools, childcare) and Watertown on 2 (wages, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
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 Watertown ◗
cost of living
94
89
wages
40
41
rent
96
38
safety
85
38
schools
51
8
childcare
88
18
environment
51
64
Paducah and Watertown differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Paducah has a cost-of-living index of 86.1 vs Watertown's 87.7 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $62,516 in Paducah and $62,801 in Watertown. A 2-bedroom averages $969/mo vs $1,405/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Paducah vs Watertown Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Paducah and Watertown works out to $5,232 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Paducah carries the same local purchasing power as $101,866 in Watertown - the more honest read than the salary headline above, 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 380.0 in NY, with property-crime rates of 1397.1 and 1661.2 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: KY lists 1,395 public schools at a 15.1:1 student-teacher ratio, while NY lists 4,812 schools at 11.4:1, 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 $13,869/yr in Watertown - 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 Watertown 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.
Watertown composite
46.4 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
13 pts
Watertown cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
47 pts
Paducah safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Paducah
Paducah composite (Grade A+)
Watertown
Watertown composite (Grade C+)
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 | Watertown |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 86.1 | 87.7 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 99.7 |
| Services | 76.9 | 132.2 |
| Rents | 48.8 | 53.2 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Watertown gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Paducah?
$
Equivalent in Watertown:
$101,866
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Paducah: 86.1, Watertown: 87.7, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Paducah | Watertown |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $784/mo | $969/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $789/mo | $1,071/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $969/mo | $1,405/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,348/mo | $1,907/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,415/mo | $2,340/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Paducah | Watertown |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $62,516 | $62,801 |
| Total Employment | 43,110 | 34,160 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Paducah (KY) | Watertown (NY) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 225.5 | 380.0 |
| Property Crime | 1397.1 | 1661.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | KY | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,395 | 4,812 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 15.1:1 | 11.4:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.0% | 7.1% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | KY | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,238/yr | $13,869/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $6,605/yr | $12,979/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,605/yr | $11,679/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | KY | NY |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 489 | 697 |
| Water Systems | 375 | 2,242 |
| Superfund Sites | 20 | 122 |
| Water Violations | 1,864 | 5,536 |
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 | Watertown |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 42.0 | 34.0 |
| Good Air Days | 74.3% | 94.7% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | KY | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 1/100 | 7/100 |
| Total Violations | 80,482 | 552,003 |
| Health-Based Violations | 12,554 | 26,817 |
| Systems with Violations | 99.1% | 94.4% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | KY | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 56/100 | 99/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 44.5% | 0.6% |
| HPSA Designations | 701 | 560 |
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 | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 71/100 | 37/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 44.2 | 69.4 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 41.4 | 70.4 |
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 Paducah more expensive than Watertown? ▼
Paducah has a cost of living index of 86.1 compared to Watertown's 87.7 (national average = 100). Watertown is 1.6 points above Paducah on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Paducah and Watertown? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $969/mo in Paducah vs $1,405/mo in Watertown, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $784/mo to $969/mo.
How do salaries compare between Paducah and Watertown? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $62,516 in Paducah and $62,801 in Watertown, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Paducah has the same purchasing power as $101,866 in Watertown.
Is Paducah or Watertown safer? ▼
At the state level, KY has a violent crime rate of 225.5 per 100,000 residents compared to NY's 380.0 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1397.1 vs 1661.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Paducah and Watertown? ▼
KY has 1,395 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.1:1, while NY has 4,812 schools at 11.4:1. Charter schools make up 0.0% of KY schools vs 7.1% in NY. 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