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State guide · October 2026
What it costs to ship a car to or from Kentucky, why Louisville and Lexington price differently from the mountains, and the sheriff's inspection your car needs before Kentucky will title it.
Written by Adam Scott, Coordinator at Broadway Auto Transport · October 20, 2026 · Prices updated October 20, 2026
Live carrier rates · ~30 seconds
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The short answer
In October 2026 a running sedan on an open carrier costs about $1,255 from New York to Louisville, about $990 from Miami to Louisville, and about $1,370 from Los Angeles to Lexington. The trip east is cheaper: Lexington to New York runs about $765. Louisville to Chicago, at about $450, is the shortest lane we priced.
Leaving Kentucky costs less on 3 of the 6 pairs priced this month. Carriers price the empty miles home, so the busier direction costs more. Each pair below is the same out-of-state city in both directions, running sedan, open carrier.
Chicago
New York
Dallas
Miami
Phoenix
Los Angeles
What it costs
Lexington to New York is 708 miles and costs about $765 on an open carrier this month. New York to Louisville is 740 miles and costs about $1,255. Carriers charge far more to bring a car in from the Northeast than to take one back. A household moving here from the East Coast pays the higher number. One moving away pays the lower one.
Everything with a dollar figure on this page comes from Kentucky lanes we priced in October 2026, for a running sedan on an open carrier, and it is meant for planning. The rest covers what a table leaves out: who ships cars in and out of Kentucky, which cities sit on I-65, I-64, I-71 and I-75, why a pickup in Pikeville or Hazard needs a different plan from one in Louisville, how ice and flooding affect the calendar, and the sheriff's inspection a car from another state has to pass before the county clerk will title it.
These are October 2026 figures for the state. Your exact lane, vehicle, and week take about 30 seconds.
See my exact priceLocked 14 days · $0 until dispatch
Approximate prices, October 2026 · open carrier · running sedan · 13 Kentucky lanes
Approximate prices for a running sedan on an open carrier, from the Kentucky lanes we priced in October 2026. Use them to plan. Inbound lanes from the Northeast run well above outbound ones, and pickups in eastern Kentucky sit above the band because they are off the interstates. Run your ZIP pair through the calculator for the exact number; it takes about 30 seconds.
What moves the number
Approximate October 2026 prices for a running sedan on an open carrier. Larger vehicles, enclosed trailers, and peak weeks cost more; the calculator prices your exact shipment.
Lanes · October 2026
Approximate prices for a running sedan on an open carrier, with the range most trucks on the lane land in. “Truck assigned in” is how long it usually takes to find a carrier. Transit is what one driver covers at 400 to 500 miles a day after that.
$1,255most trucks $970–$1,545
740 mi2 days on the trucktruck assigned in 1–23 hours
New York to Louisville costs about $1,255 for 740 miles, far above the eastbound Lexington to New York lane at about $765. Trucks come in on I-71 from Cincinnati or I-64 from the east. Most land between $970 and $1,545, and the trip takes about two days.
Price this route$990most trucks $830–$1,145
1,053 mi3 days on the trucktruck assigned in 1–4 hours
Miami to Louisville runs about $990 for 1,053 miles, nearly the same as Lexington to Miami at about $1,000. Trucks run north through Atlanta and Chattanooga, and the trip takes two to three days after pickup. Most loads fall between about $830 and $1,145.
Price this route$1,370most trucks $930–$1,805
2,166 mi5–6 days on the trucktruck assigned in 1–41 hours
At 2,166 miles and about $1,370, this is the longest lane into Kentucky on our board. I-40 carries most of the trip, across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas into Tennessee. Louisville to Los Angeles runs about $1,360, so the two directions cost about the same. Plan on five days.
Price this route$765most trucks $575–$960
708 mi2 days on the trucktruck assigned in 1–8 hours
Lexington to New York is the cheap direction, about $765 for 708 miles, while New York to Louisville costs about $1,255. Trucks leave east on I-64 and reach New York in about two days, with most loads between $575 and $960.
Price this route$1,360most trucks $1,060–$1,660
2,091 mi5–6 days on the trucktruck assigned in 1–5 days
Louisville to Los Angeles runs about $1,360 for 2,091 miles, with most trucks between $1,060 and $1,660. Trucks head west toward St. Louis or Nashville and finish on I-40 across the desert. Transit runs about five days, longer if snow closes I-40 near Flagstaff.
Price this route$450most trucks $350–$550
300 mi1 day on the trucktruck assigned in 1–48 hours
I-65 runs north from Louisville through Indianapolis to the Chicago area, 300 miles, and the car usually arrives the next day. At about $450 this is the cheapest lane on our Kentucky board. Chicago to Lexington, the return direction, runs about $545.
Price this route| Lane | Miles | Approx. price | Most trucks | Truck assigned in | Transit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL → Lexington, KY | 376 | $545 | $440–$645 | 1 hour | 1 day | 376 mi · 1 day · truck in 1 hour |
| New York, NY → Louisville, KY | 740 | $1,255 | $970–$1,545 | 1–23 hours | 2 days | 740 mi · 2 days · truck in 1–23 hours |
| Dallas, TX → Lexington, KY | 887 | $955 | $765–$1,150 | 1–4 hours | 2–3 days | 887 mi · 2–3 days · truck in 1–4 hours |
| Miami, FL → Louisville, KY | 1,053 | $990 | $830–$1,145 | 1–4 hours | 3 days | 1,053 mi · 3 days · truck in 1–4 hours |
| Phoenix, AZ → Louisville, KY | 1,721 | $1,195 | $1,065–$1,325 | 1–23 hours | 4–5 days | 1,721 mi · 4–5 days · truck in 1–23 hours |
| Los Angeles, CA → Lexington, KY | 2,166 | $1,370 | $930–$1,805 | 1–41 hours | 5–6 days | 2,166 mi · 5–6 days · truck in 1–41 hours |
| Lane | Miles | Approx. price | Most trucks | Truck assigned in | Transit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville, KY → Chicago, IL | 300 | $450 | $350–$550 | 1–48 hours | 1 day | 300 mi · 1 day · truck in 1–48 hours |
| Fort Campbell, KY → Fort Benning, GA | 422 | $475 | $395–$560 | 1–3 days | 1–2 days | 422 mi · 1–2 days · truck in 1–3 days |
| Lexington, KY → New York, NY | 708 | $765 | $575–$960 | 1–8 hours | 2 days | 708 mi · 2 days · truck in 1–8 hours |
| Louisville, KY → Dallas, TX | 848 | $1,100 | $890–$1,310 | 1–6 hours | 2–3 days | 848 mi · 2–3 days · truck in 1–6 hours |
| Lexington, KY → Miami, FL | 1,044 | $1,000 | $835–$1,160 | 1–35 hours | 3 days | 1,044 mi · 3 days · truck in 1–35 hours |
| Lexington, KY → Phoenix, AZ | 1,794 | $1,300 | $960–$1,645 | 1–3 days | 4–5 days | 1,794 mi · 4–5 days · truck in 1–3 days |
| Louisville, KY → Los Angeles, CA | 2,091 | $1,360 | $1,060–$1,660 | 1–5 days | 5–6 days | 2,091 mi · 5–6 days · truck in 1–5 days |
| Lane | Miles | Approx. price | Most trucks | Truck assigned in | Transit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenner, LA → Louisville, KY | 717 | $1,120 | $715–$1,520 | 1–6 days | 2 days | 717 mi · 2 days · truck in 1–6 days |
Your lane is not in the table? Every ZIP pair in Kentucky prices the same way, in about 30 seconds.
Price my exact laneLocked 14 days · $0 until dispatch
Where in Kentucky the car is decides how fast a truck comes and whether it reaches the door. Tap a city to price a pickup there.
Louisville sits where I-64, I-65 and I-71 meet, and UPS runs its main air hub at the airport, so trucks pass through every day. New York to Louisville runs about $1,255 this month, Miami to Louisville about $990, and Louisville to Chicago about $450. Narrow streets in Old Louisville and the Highlands usually mean meeting the driver at a lot.
Lexington is at the junction of I-64 and I-75, home to the University of Kentucky and ringed by horse farms. The eastbound lane out is cheap, about $765 to New York, while Los Angeles to Lexington runs about $1,370 and Chicago to Lexington about $545. Long farm drives out on the pike roads usually mean meeting the truck on pavement in town.
Bowling Green is on I-65 about an hour north of Nashville, with the Corvette assembly plant and the National Corvette Museum side by side. Western Kentucky University adds student moves each August and May. Many owners who take delivery at the museum ship the car home enclosed, which costs 30 to 50% more than an open trailer.
Price a pickup in Bowling GreenFort Knox sits on US-31W about 35 miles south of Louisville, between the city and Elizabethtown, where I-65 passes. The Army's Human Resources Command is based there, so PCS orders move officers and families in and out every summer. Gate rules decide whether the truck meets you on post or at a lot in Radcliff.
Price a pickup in Fort KnoxFort Campbell straddles the Kentucky and Tennessee line off I-24 and is home to the 101st Airborne Division. Moves between Army posts are common, and Fort Campbell to Fort Benning, Georgia, runs about $475 for 422 miles. Summer is the busy PCS stretch, and the driver meets you at the gate or at a lot in Oak Grove or Clarksville.
Covington, Newport and Florence sit across the Ohio River from Cincinnati on I-71 and I-75, and the Cincinnati airport is on the Kentucky side in Boone County. Carriers treat Northern Kentucky as part of the Cincinnati stop. The Brent Spence Bridge carries both interstates over the river and backs up at rush hour, so pickups are timed around it.
Price a pickup in CovingtonPikeville is in the eastern coalfields on US-23, a four-lane highway but a long way from any interstate. A full carrier can reach the town itself, while the hollows around it have narrow roads and switchbacks, so most pickups happen at a lot along US-23. Expect a longer wait for a truck than in Lexington or Louisville.
Price a pickup in PikevillePaducah is on I-24 where the Tennessee River meets the Ohio, with I-69 about half an hour east. Carriers running between St. Louis and Nashville pass through, so a Paducah pickup is usually quick to assign. A floodwall protects downtown, and in a high-water spring its gates close some riverfront streets.
Price a pickup in PaducahTwo Army posts send a steady flow of cars into Kentucky. Fort Knox sits south of Louisville, a short run from I-65. Fort Campbell straddles the Tennessee line near Hopkinsville and Clarksville, close to I-24. Summer is the main PCS season at both, and both are close enough to an interstate that they price about like Louisville or Nashville. Students add a late-summer rush to Lexington for the University of Kentucky, to Louisville for UofL, to Bowling Green for Western Kentucky University, and to Richmond for Eastern Kentucky University.
Bowling Green adds shipments tied to one car. General Motors builds the Corvette at its Bowling Green Assembly plant, across I-65 from the National Corvette Museum, and some buyers who take delivery at the museum ship the car home rather than drive it. Owners of a brand-new Corvette often choose an enclosed carrier, which runs 30 to 50% above open. For the inbound lanes we priced, Miami to Louisville is about $990, Dallas to Lexington about $955, Phoenix to Louisville about $1,195, and Chicago to Lexington about $545.
Leaving Kentucky is the better-priced direction on most lanes. Lexington to New York runs about $765 for 708 miles and Louisville to Chicago about $450 for 300 miles. Lexington to Miami is about $1,000, within ten dollars of Miami to Louisville. The exceptions are Texas and the West: Louisville to Dallas is about $1,100, more than the $955 it costs to come the other way from Dallas to Lexington, and Louisville to Los Angeles is about $1,360.
Dealer and auction traffic moves out of Kentucky all year. Manheim Louisville holds its sales across the Ohio River in Clarksville, Indiana, so a car bought there ships from Indiana even though the buyer thinks of it as Louisville. Students leave Lexington and Bowling Green in May. PCS orders out of Fort Knox and Fort Campbell cluster in summer. Retirees heading for Florida tend to go in the fall, but Kentucky has no snowbird rush big enough to move the outbound prices.
A loaded car carrier runs about 75 feet. These are the Kentucky addresses where it can’t reach the door, and what happens instead. Your coordinator settles it before you book.
Louisville is the hub. I-65 runs south from it through Elizabethtown and Bowling Green to Nashville, I-64 runs east to Lexington and on to West Virginia, and I-71 heads northeast to Cincinnati. Lexington sits where I-64 crosses I-75, and the Northern Kentucky suburbs around Covington and Florence share the I-71 and I-75 corridor with Cincinnati. Any address near those lines gets assigned quickly and prices at the low end. In the west, I-24 and I-69 put Paducah, Madisonville and Henderson on reachable routes too.
Eastern Kentucky is where pickups need planning. Pikeville, Hazard, Harlan and the hollows around them sit on two-lane roads and parkways in mountain country, an hour or more from I-64 or I-75. Some of those roads have switchbacks a 75-foot carrier cannot take. Expect a meet-up at a lot near an interchange, often in Lexington, Winchester or London, or a longer wait for a smaller truck. Older Louisville neighborhoods with narrow streets, like the Highlands and Old Louisville, sometimes need a meet-up as well. Your coordinator settles it before you book.
Kentucky winters bring more freezing rain than deep snow, and an ice storm can stop trucks on I-64 and I-75 for a day while crews treat the roads. Spring brings flooding along the Ohio River and flash floods in the eastern valleys, where a single washed-out road can cut off a pickup address. When either happens the carrier holds, your coordinator texts you the new window, and the price stays as quoted.
Louisville's Ohio River bridges set a small trap for car owners. The I-65 and I-265 bridges between Louisville and southern Indiana are tolled electronically through RiverLink, with no booths and no cash. A transponder left in a car riding on the carrier can be read on the way across, and the toll lands on your account. Take it out before pickup.
Your driver phones roughly 24 hours before pickup, and the coordinator texts the confirmed window the evening before.
Calendar
When the same lanes get busy, and what that does to your pickup week.
How busy the Kentucky lanes get each month, from our coordinators’ calendar. Busier months fill trucks sooner and cost more.
Kentucky rules
The rules that catch people who bring a car in from another state.
Accurate as of the review date below. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet sets them; your county clerk's office is the one to call before you title and register.
Questions
In October 2026, New York to Louisville runs about $1,255 for a running sedan on an open carrier, with most trucks between roughly $970 and $1,545. The trip is 740 miles, two days or so in transit. Heading the other way costs much less: Lexington to New York is about $765. Put your ZIP codes in the calculator for an exact price, held in writing for 14 days.
Louisville to Los Angeles runs about $1,360 on an open carrier in October 2026, with most trucks between roughly $1,060 and $1,660. Los Angeles to Lexington is about $1,370, so the two directions price almost the same. At 2,091 miles, count about five days on the road after pickup.
Miami to Louisville is about $990 in October 2026 and Lexington to Miami about $1,000, both for a running sedan on an open carrier. Most trucks on the Lexington to Miami lane land between roughly $835 and $1,160. The run is a little over 1,000 miles, so two to three days in transit.
Getting a carrier assigned takes a day or two around Louisville, Lexington and Northern Kentucky, and longer in the eastern mountains. Once loaded, drivers cover about 400 to 500 miles a day: one day to Chicago, about two to New York, two to three to Miami or Dallas, about five to Los Angeles. Ice or flooding can add a day or two.
A sheriff's inspection, then a trip to the county clerk in your county of residence with the title, form TC 96-182, proof of Kentucky insurance dated within 45 days, and photo ID. Kentucky's new-resident guidance asks you to title and register within 10 to 15 days of moving here, so book the inspection soon after the car arrives.
Yes. The museum in Bowling Green sits right off I-65, which makes it an easy pickup. Many owners ship a new Corvette enclosed, which costs 30 to 50% more than open and keeps road grime and weather off the paint. The calculator prices both trailer types, so you can compare them once you know the museum delivery date.
Yes. Fort Knox is south of Louisville near I-65, and Fort Campbell is near I-24 on the Tennessee line, so both get trucks about as quickly as the nearby cities. Gate rules decide whether the driver meets you on post or at a lot outside. Summer is the busy PCS season, so book when the orders come in.
The data
The numbers are rebuilt from our own pricing each month and published with the page, so the dates above are the real ones.
Other state guides
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