The Kentucky Derby reminds us that Louisville is a world-class city that's still affordable
As Louisvillians, it’s easy to take our city for granted. But in the week leading up to the Kentucky Derby, as we all notice more out-of-state license plates on the roads and longer wait times at restaurants given the high number of tourists coming into our city to enjoy Derby festivities, it’s a great reminder that Louisville is a world-class city that is often overlooked.
I can say with confidence, as someone who was born and raised in Kentucky and went to high school at Pleasure Ridge Park, and who has since lived in seven different states across three different time zones, that Louisville is one of the best cities in the country. Some of the reasons are obvious: We have 17 well-maintained Olmsted Parks (one of only four complete Olmsted park systems in the world), a thriving bourbon tourism scene, the #3 ranked riverwalk, numerous award-winning schools and universities, downtown gems like the Muhammad Ali Center and the Big Four Bridge, and of course, Churchill Downs. Census records also show that both Louisville and Jefferson County have an increasingly diverse population, giving rise to a wealth of amazing restaurants.
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Louisville is an affordable place to live
But one surprising fact that a lot of tourists may not know about Louisville is how affordable it is to live here compared to other major cities. I was personally amazed at Louisville’s cost of living after relocating last year from Denver, Colorado, where I’ve lived off and on since 2016. According to a recent RentCafe study, Denver is the sixth-most desirable city for renters in the US given its proximity to the Rocky Mountains and sunny weather. However, Denver is also the 8th most expensive city to buy a home according to Zillow, with median home prices in excess of $600,000. It’s the same for renters: RentCafe estimates show that median monthly rent in Denver for an 839-square-foot apartment comes in at just under $2,000 and can balloon up to $2,500 a month depending on the neighborhood. When my former landlord raised my rent by $400 (a 17% year-over-year increase) in 2022, I knew it was time to go.
In comparison, Louisville’s median monthly rent for a 931-square-foot apartment is less than $1,200. I personally pay just $1,100 for a 1,000-square-foot, two bedroom apartment in the Highlands, just steps away from Bardstown Road’s top-tier restaurant scene, and just a few short blocks away from Cherokee Park. This is far less than I paid for lesser accommodations in other places I’ve lived, including Houston, Texas; Hartford, Connecticut; Manchester, New Hampshire; Madison, Wisconsin; Atlanta, Georgia, and even Newark, Delaware.
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The importance of affordability – particularly for millennials like me – can’t be overstated. According to USA Today, millennials have spent approximately 45% of our income just on rent alone by the time we turned 30. Roughly half of millennials (defined as anyone between the ages of 24 and 39) don’t make enough to afford even a one-bedroom apartment in eight US cities. For perspective, most rental applications ask tenants to prove that they make at least three times the monthly rent. Young professionals who want to live in a diverse, urban environment and who are looking to relocate from expensive cities would do very well in Louisville.
It’s true that Louisville doesn’t currently register with out-of-towners as an international powerhouse the same way as cities like Atlanta and Chicago. But Louisville is absolutely a world-class city in which we should all be proud to live. If we all work to keep it that way, the Derby City could one day ascend to its proper place as a top American city.
Carl Gibson is an independent journalist and columnist whose work has been published in CNN, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Houston Chronicle, Barron’s, Business Insider, The Independent, and NPR, among other publications.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby: Louisville is a world-class city we can still afford
