Monthly rent for 2-br apartment: $570
Monthly house payment: $920
Gallon gas: $2.702
Hamburger: $2.99
Half-gallon milk: $2.05

The Paducah micro area includes Ballard, Livingston, McCracken, and Massac counties and is known for its art and historic districts. It is also called the Four Rivers Area due to the proximity of the Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland, and Mississippi rivers, according to the city of Paducah. About 15 percent of people in the area live below the poverty level, estimates the U.S. Census Bureau, and unemployment was about 8.7 percent in April, according to the BLS.