Paducah composite
70.0 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Paducah vs Wheeling
Paducah, KY-IL and Wheeling, WV-OH 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
- 68.2
- Wheeling Life Score
- A+
- Wheeling grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Paducah scores higher on 5 (cost of living, wages, rent, schools, childcare) and Wheeling on 2 (safety, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Paducah vs Wheeling 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 Wheeling ◗
cost of living
94
85
wages
22
21
rent
96
94
safety
77
98
schools
53
23
childcare
88
61
environment
68
97
Paducah and Wheeling differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Paducah has a cost-of-living index of 86.1 vs Wheeling's 88.3 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $62,516 in Paducah and $58,635 in Wheeling. A 2-bedroom averages $969/mo vs $991/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Paducah vs Wheeling Comparison
Paducah (KY) and Wheeling (WV) 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 88.3 for Wheeling, a 2.2-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 $991/mo in Wheeling, a $22/mo difference that compounds to $264 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $62,516 across 43,110 jobs in Paducah against $58,635 across 52,560 jobs in Wheeling. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Paducah carries the same local purchasing power as $102,601 in Wheeling - 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 241.6 in WV, with property-crime rates of 1397.1 and 1089.3 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 WV lists 648 schools at 13.1:1, 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 $8,974/yr in Wheeling - 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 Wheeling 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.
Wheeling composite
68.2 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-2.2 pts
Paducah vs Wheeling BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$22 /mo
Wheeling priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Paducah
Paducah composite (Grade A+)
Wheeling
Wheeling 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 | Paducah | Wheeling |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 86.1 | 88.3 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 96.4 |
| Services | 76.9 | 94.9 |
| Rents | 48.8 | 51.4 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Wheeling gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Paducah?
$
Equivalent in Wheeling:
$102,601
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Paducah: 86.1, Wheeling: 88.3, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Paducah | Wheeling |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $784/mo | $683/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $789/mo | $816/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $969/mo | $991/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,348/mo | $1,277/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,415/mo | $1,413/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Paducah | Wheeling |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $62,516 | $58,635 |
| Total Employment | 43,110 | 52,560 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Paducah (KY) | Wheeling (WV) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 225.5 | 241.6 |
| Property Crime | 1397.1 | 1089.3 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | KY | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,395 | 648 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 15.2:1 | 13.1:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.0% | 0.6% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | KY | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,238/yr | $8,974/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $6,605/yr | $8,493/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,605/yr | $8,470/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | KY | WV |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 489 | 207 |
| Water Systems | 376 | 424 |
| Superfund Sites | 20 | 14 |
| Water Violations | 1,788 | 2,371 |
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 | Wheeling |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 43.0 | 45.0 |
| Good Air Days | 74.0% | 66.4% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | KY | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 1/100 | 1/100 |
| Total Violations | 80,482 | 187,590 |
| Health-Based Violations | 12,554 | 11,480 |
| Systems with Violations | 99.1% | 99.5% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | KY | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 687 | 361 |
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 | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 71/100 | 64/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 44.2 | 49.2 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 41.4 | 45.3 |
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 Wheeling? ▼
Paducah has a cost of living index of 86.1 compared to Wheeling's 88.3 (national average = 100). Wheeling is 2.2 points above Paducah on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Paducah and Wheeling? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $969/mo in Paducah vs $991/mo in Wheeling, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $784/mo to $683/mo.
How do salaries compare between Paducah and Wheeling? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $62,516 in Paducah and $58,635 in Wheeling, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Paducah has the same purchasing power as $102,601 in Wheeling.
Is Paducah or Wheeling safer? ▼
At the state level, KY has a violent crime rate of 225.5 per 100,000 residents compared to WV's 241.6 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1397.1 vs 1089.3 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Paducah and Wheeling? ▼
KY has 1,395 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.2:1, while WV has 648 schools at 13.1:1. Charter schools make up 0.0% of KY schools vs 0.6% in WV. 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