Estimate your true all-in monthly payment on a Kentucky home — principal, interest, Kentucky property taxes, homeowners insurance, PMI and HOA — with live national rates, colorful payment-breakdown charts and a full amortization schedule. No sign-up needed.
P&I, PMI, HOA, taxes & insurance — prefilled with Kentucky averages
Kentucky ranks 30th of 51 on property-tax rate, 11th on insurance premium and 45th on home value, which is why its payment splits the way it does below.
Kentucky 0.8% vs US average 1.07%
Kentucky $2,600 vs US average $1,700
The fields above are already set to Kentucky: $215,000 typical value, 0.8% effective property tax, and a premium of $2,600 a year that is worth 1.21% of the house annually - 9th of 51 on that measure. Together they give $1,436 a month at 6.4%. At $215,000 - 45th of 51 - Kentucky is one of the least expensive markets in the set, and the arithmetic shifts with it: 25% of the payment is escrow, and a $50,000 change in price moves the monthly figure only about $334. Correcting the tax and insurance fields for a specific address in Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green matters more than the price field. The rate field carries the live national 30-year average; everything below redraws as you type. unique to this page
Kentucky's average effective property-tax rate is 0.8% - 30th highest of the 51 jurisdictions here, against a 0.85% median for the set. On the $215,000 typical home that is $1,720 a year, or $143 a month collected through escrow. That puts Kentucky in the middle of the set at 0.94 times the median, a $108 annual difference on this house, so the tax line here is roughly what a national calculator would assume. Georgia and Indiana sit closest to Kentucky on rate. Kentucky's low home prices and moderate property taxes make it one of the more affordable states to buy in. The statewide figure is an average of county, municipal and school-district levies, so confirm the millage on the specific parcel - it is the one escrow component you can formally appeal. unique to this page
Generating a $2,600 annual median, homeowners insurance in Kentucky places 11th highest of the 51 jurisdictions, extracting $217 monthly and composing 60% of the $4,320 this property requires yearly for combined tax and insurance. Positioned $900 above the $1,700 national average, the premium undeniably operates as the dominant half of the escrow account rather than the smaller one. Dictated by severe spring tornados and widespread convective windstorms, carriers authorized by the Kentucky Department of Insurance frequently mandate split deductibles, shifting wind/hail damage to a 1% or 2% percentage rather than a flat fee. Properties unable to secure admitted coverage rely on the Kentucky FAIR Plan Reinsurance Association for basic dwelling fire protection. Missouri and Minnesota project comparable baseline premiums; across the entire dataset, premiums range from an Oregon low of $900 to a Florida peak of $5,500. Actual customized rates evaluate building materials and specialized fire district classifications. REWRITTEN — added: Kentucky Department of Insurance, Kentucky FAIR Plan Reinsurance Association, split 1-2% wind/hail deductibles SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the Kentucky FAIR Plan Reinsurance Association is the explicit statutory insurer of last resort for Kentucky VERIFIED BY: Kentucky Department of Insurance SOURCES: Kentucky Department of Insurance. "Consumer Guide to Homeowners Insurance." 2024.
Securing the typical $215,000 Kentucky home with 20% down ($43,000) generates a $172,000 base loan. Processed at 6.4% over 30 years, naked principal and interest extract $1,076 a month; applying $143 of Kentucky property tax alongside $217 of insurance forces the total to $1,436. Because escrow claims 25% of the total payment - the 15th highest escrow share of the 51 jurisdictions - the $360 missing from a bare P&I quote constitutes a critical blind spot closer to a fifth of the bill than a rounding error. At settlement, buyers face the Kentucky real estate transfer tax, strictly billed under KRS 142.050 at $1.00 per $1,000 of the sale price, traditionally paid by the seller but frequently negotiated. Real estate closings utilize closing attorneys, and foreclosures proceed strictly through a judicial process requiring a master commissioner sale. Over the full term this loan generates $215,313 in pure interest on top of the $172,000 originally drawn. Alternate scenarios modify the charts below. REWRITTEN — added: KRS 142.050 transfer tax of $1.00 per $1,000, master commissioner sale judicial foreclosure SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the KRS 142.050 transfer tax rate and the master commissioner sale foreclosure mechanism are purely Kentucky law VERIFIED BY: Kentucky Department of Revenue and Kentucky Revised Statutes SOURCES: Kentucky Department of Revenue. "Real Estate Transfer Tax." 2024.
Operated by federal legislation rather than a Kentucky state edict, PMI applies automatically below 20% down and natively cancels at 22% equity. State volatility dictates the required liquidity: producing 20% of the typical Kentucky home demands $43,000, vastly exceeding the $6,450 required at the 3% conventional floor. Measured against the $4,320 this house carries every year in tax and insurance, that deposit equates to 10.0 years of carrying costs, landing 37th of 51. This confirms that the ongoing tax and insurance liability, rather than the initial deposit, dominates ownership economics in Kentucky. The Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) bridges this via their Regular DPA ($10,000) or Affordable DPA ($7,500) secondary loans, keeping cash in the buyer's pocket. Reaching 20% still efficiently eliminates the PMI, which bills roughly $97 a month on a $193,500 loan at the 10% threshold. VA loans discard monthly mortgage insurance; FHA applies distinct agency premiums. On aggregated tax, price, and premium, Missouri and Arkansas operate as Kentucky's nearest statistical twins in the set. REWRITTEN — added: Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) Regular DPA ($10,000) and Affordable DPA ($7,500) SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the KHC Regular and Affordable DPA loan tiers are unique to the Kentucky Housing Corporation VERIFIED BY: Kentucky Housing Corporation SOURCES: Kentucky Housing Corporation. "Down Payment Assistance Programs." 2025.
Categorized by monthly fiscal impact on this $215,000 model, the insurance premium ($217 a month) aggressively beats out the property-tax line ($143 a month) and consumes a one percentage point interest rate reduction ($115 a month). Re-shopping the hazard policy at every renewal remains the fastest money on this page. That precise ordering remains rigidly specific to Kentucky and only flips wherever a state's millage, premium or price dramatically shifts. Both escrow lines combine to demand $360 a month against just $115 for a full point of rate, proving that in Kentucky the municipal costs outweigh the loan terms. Taxpayers disputing their valuation must initiate the process during the Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) open inspection period—usually a 13-day window in early May—before elevating to the local Board of Assessment Appeals. Qualifying seniors (65+) should apply for the KRS 132.810 Homestead Exemption, which shields tens of thousands of assessed value. The Extra Payments panel above illustrates exactly how efficiently the remaining $172,000 balance collapses under direct principal reduction. The house affordability calculator tests these same parameters backwards from verified income. REWRITTEN — added: Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) 13-day inspection window, KRS 132.810 Homestead Exemption SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the PVA role, the specific 13-day open inspection window, and KRS 132.810 are exclusive to Kentucky's property tax code VERIFIED BY: Kentucky Department of Revenue SOURCES: Kentucky Department of Revenue. "Property Tax Appeals and Exemptions." 2024.
| Metric | Kentucky | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Effective property-tax rate | 0.8% | 1.07% |
| Property tax on a $215,000 home (per year) | $1,720 | $2,301 |
| Average homeowners insurance (per year) | $2,600 | $1,700 |
| Typical home value | $215,000 | $360,000 |
Each row holds the $143 of Kentucky property tax and $217 of insurance constant on this $215,000 home and moves only the loan, at 6.4% over 30 years. PMI near 0.6%/yr applies under 20% down.
| Down payment | Loan amount | P&I /mo | PMI /mo | All-in /mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% ($6,450) | $208,550 | $1,304 | $104 | $1,769 |
| 5% ($10,750) | $204,250 | $1,278 | $102 | $1,740 |
| 10% ($21,500) | $193,500 | $1,210 | $97 | $1,667 |
| 20% ($43,000) | $172,000 | $1,076 | — | $1,436 |
The same 0.8% Kentucky tax rate applied up and down the price ladder at 6.4% with 20% down, insurance scaled from the $2,600 state average. The highlighted row is the $215,000 typical home.
| Home price | Loan (20% down) | P&I /mo | Tax + insurance /mo | All-in /mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $160,000 | $1,001 | $335 | $1,336 |
| $300,000 | $240,000 | $1,501 | $502 | $2,004 |
| $400,000 | $320,000 | $2,002 | $670 | $2,671 |
| $500,000 | $400,000 | $2,502 | $837 | $3,339 |
| $750,000 | $600,000 | $3,753 | $1,256 | $5,009 |
Same $172,000 Kentucky loan, two terms: 6.4% over 30 years against 5.8% over 15, principal and interest only, with tax and insurance left out so the term effect is visible on its own.
| Loan term | Rate | Principal & interest /mo | Total interest paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed | 6.4% | $1,076 | $215,313 |
| 15-year fixed | 5.8% | $1,433 | $85,925 |
The 15-year term costs $357 more a month and returns $129,389 of interest over the term - about 60% of what the 30-year loan would have cost this Kentucky borrower in interest.
Kentucky channels official down-payment assistance and below-market first mortgages through the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC). The deposit is $43,000 at 20% on the typical $215,000 home, or $6,450 at the 3% conventional floor - only about 10.0 years of the $4,320 this house carries annually in tax and insurance, 37th of 51 on that ratio. Here the running cost weighs more than the deposit, and assistance is as often used to skip PMI of roughly $97 a month as to make the purchase possible. Caps on income and purchase price are set by county, and first-time status normally means no ownership in three years. Re-run the calculator at a smaller down payment to see what assistance changes on this $1,436 payment.
A Kentucky mortgage payment is four separate numbers, and only the first is set by your lender. Principal and interest come from the amortization formula below; property tax and homeowners insurance are local, and they are what make a Kentucky payment differ from the same loan elsewhere. With a median home at $215,000, Kentucky produces one of the smaller principal-and-interest figures in the country — but that makes the fixed costs proportionally larger. Insurance and tax together add $360 a month to a $1,076 loan payment, so escrow is 25% of the total rather than the fifth or so it represents in expensive markets. The other thing lower prices change is the down payment maths: 20% here is $43,000, within reach for many buyers, and closing costs, largely fixed in dollar terms, loom larger against a smaller loan. The ranks behind that: 30th of 51 on tax rate at 0.94 times the 0.85% dataset median, 11th on premium, and 25% of the payment in escrow. Georgia and Indiana are the nearest rates. Kentucky's low home prices and moderate property taxes make it one of the more affordable states to buy in. The calculation that follows puts real Kentucky figures through all four components.
M = P × [ i(1 + i)^n ] ÷ [ (1 + i)^n − 1 ]PITI = M + (home value × 0.8% ÷ 12) + ($2,600 ÷ 12)where:
Assumptions: A fixed 6.4% for the full term, taxes and insurance escrowed, no PMI at 20% down. The 0.8% is a statewide effective average, so county millage, parcel exemptions and HOA dues will move the $360 escrow line; Kentucky ranks 30th of 51 on rate.
ReferenceCFPB: buying a house
Work the $215,000 Kentucky median — 45th of 51 in this dataset — through in the order a lender would, at 20% down on a 30-year fixed at 6.4%. The escrow half lands at $360 a month before the loan is touched.
Result$1,435.87 per month (PITI) — $1,075.87 loan + $360.00 escrow
Over the full 30 years that loan costs $215,313 in interest on top of the $172,000 borrowed. Escrow is 25% of the monthly payment in Kentucky, so comparing quotes on principal and interest alone hides a large part of the real cost.
View all 50 state mortgage calculators →