Most of Paducah is in McCracken County, where a full-time job needs to pay at least $25.77 an hour before taxes to take home four times the typical studio rent.
Across the 3 ZIP codes in Paducah with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $660 to $850 a month. At the middle rent, $790, a full-time job would need to pay $24.14 an hour before taxes.
What the standard would be at each ZIP code's own studio rent. The calculator and the official standard use the county figure.
| ZIP | County | Studio rent | Pay needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42001 | McCracken County | $850/mo | $26.09/hr |
| 42002 | McCracken County | $790/mo | $24.14/hr |
| 42003 | McCracken County | $660/mo | $19.91/hr |
Under the Four Times Rent standard, a full-time job in Paducah needs to pay at least $25.77 an hour before taxes, about $53,600 a year. That is the figure for McCracken County, where the typical studio rent is $840 a month.
Yes. Across the 3 ZIP codes in Paducah with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $660 to $850 a month. At the middle rent of $790, the pay needed would be $24.14 an hour.
The minimum wage in McCracken County is $7.25 an hour. The Four Times Rent standard there is 3.6 times that.
The Four Times Rent standard: a month of full-time work (160 hours) should take home at least four times the typical rent on a studio apartment in the county where the work is done. Rents: HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents. Taxes: 2026 federal and state income taxes plus Social Security and Medicare, for a single filer. Why four times rent? · Method and data downloads