Paducah composite
72.8 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Paducah vs Wichita Falls
Paducah, KY-IL and Wichita Falls, TX 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
- 53.8
- Wichita Falls Life Score
- B
- Wichita Falls grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Paducah scores higher on 6 (cost of living, wages, rent, safety, schools, childcare) and Wichita Falls on 1 (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 Wichita Falls ◗
cost of living
94
77
wages
40
8
rent
96
76
safety
85
32
schools
51
47
childcare
88
71
environment
51
90
Paducah and Wichita Falls differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Paducah has a cost-of-living index of 86.1 vs Wichita Falls's 89.5 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $62,516 in Paducah and $56,840 in Wichita Falls. A 2-bedroom averages $969/mo vs $1,136/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Paducah vs Wichita Falls Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Paducah and Wichita Falls works out to $2,004 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 $103,983 in Wichita Falls - 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 394.7 in TX, with property-crime rates of 1397.1 and 2058.2 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 TX lists 9,061 schools at 14.4:1, 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 $7,566/yr in Wichita Falls - 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 Wichita Falls 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.
Wichita Falls composite
53.8 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
39 pts
Wichita Falls cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
53 pts
Paducah safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Paducah
Paducah composite (Grade A+)
Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls 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 | Wichita Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 86.1 | 89.5 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 93.8 |
| Services | 76.9 | 84.1 |
| Rents | 48.8 | 68.2 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Wichita Falls gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Paducah?
$
Equivalent in Wichita Falls:
$103,983
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Paducah: 86.1, Wichita Falls: 89.5, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Paducah | Wichita Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $784/mo | $831/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $789/mo | $925/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $969/mo | $1,136/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,348/mo | $1,553/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,415/mo | $1,759/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Paducah | Wichita Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $62,516 | $56,840 |
| Total Employment | 43,110 | 49,490 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Paducah (KY) | Wichita Falls (TX) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 225.5 | 394.7 |
| Property Crime | 1397.1 | 2058.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | KY | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,395 | 9,061 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 15.1:1 | 14.4:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.0% | 11.1% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | KY | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,238/yr | $7,566/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $6,605/yr | $7,109/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,605/yr | $6,926/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | KY | TX |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 489 | 2,342 |
| Water Systems | 375 | 4,620 |
| Superfund Sites | 20 | 70 |
| Water Violations | 1,864 | 35,693 |
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 | Wichita Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 42.0 | 41.8 |
| Good Air Days | 74.3% | 66.0% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | N/A |
Wichita Falls air quality shown at state level. Paducah has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | KY | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 1/100 | 13/100 |
| Total Violations | 80,482 | 746,210 |
| Health-Based Violations | 12,554 | 162,945 |
| Systems with Violations | 99.1% | 90.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | KY | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 56/100 | 67/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 44.5% | 33.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 701 | 1,119 |
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 | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 71/100 | 64/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 44.2 | 49.0 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 41.4 | 44.7 |
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 Wichita Falls? ▼
Paducah has a cost of living index of 86.1 compared to Wichita Falls's 89.5 (national average = 100). Wichita Falls is 3.4 points above Paducah on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Paducah and Wichita Falls? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $969/mo in Paducah vs $1,136/mo in Wichita Falls, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $784/mo to $831/mo.
How do salaries compare between Paducah and Wichita Falls? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $62,516 in Paducah and $56,840 in Wichita Falls, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Paducah has the same purchasing power as $103,983 in Wichita Falls.
Is Paducah or Wichita Falls safer? ▼
At the state level, KY has a violent crime rate of 225.5 per 100,000 residents compared to TX's 394.7 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1397.1 vs 2058.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Paducah and Wichita Falls? ▼
KY has 1,395 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.1:1, while TX has 9,061 schools at 14.4:1. Charter schools make up 0.0% of KY schools vs 11.1% in TX. 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