State comparison
Arkansas vs Kentucky: which state is better to live in?
Kentucky costs a median household about $340 a year less in state and local taxes than Arkansas, mostly because its combined sales tax is 6.00% against 9.46%.
Arkansas
Moderate tax burden · COL index 85
Wins 6 categories
Kentucky
Moderate tax burden · COL index 85
Wins 7 categories
Taxes: Arkansas vs Kentucky
Arkansas has a graduated income tax topping out at 3.9%, which works out to 3.6% on a median income of $74,580, or $2,680 a year. Kentucky has a flat 4% income tax, which works out to 3.5% on a median income of $74,580, or $2,610 a year. Kentucky wins on income tax at 2026 rates.
Property tax is 0.60% of home value a year in Arkansas and 0.78% in Kentucky (Tax Foundation, 2023); on each state's median home that is $1,170 against $1,677, so Arkansas has the lower rate.
Combined state and local sales tax averages 9.46% in Arkansas and 6.00% in Kentucky; Kentucky is lower.
Add it up for a household earning $74,580 (the 2022 national median) and owning the median home: $5,966 a year in Arkansas, $5,630 in Kentucky. Kentucky is cheaper on total state and local tax.
Housing and cost of living
Arkansas's cost of living index is 85 and Kentucky's is 85, where 100 is the national average; the two are level.
The median home costs $195K in Arkansas and $215K in Kentucky (Zillow, 2024), a $20K gap in Arkansas's favor. A two-bedroom rents for about $970 a month in Arkansas and $1,050 in Kentucky.
Home insurance averages $2,600 a year in Arkansas and $1,800 in Kentucky, so Kentucky is cheaper to insure.
Safety
Violent crime runs 619 incidents per 100,000 residents in Arkansas and 228 in Kentucky (FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2023); Kentucky is the safer state by that measure, with a rate 171% lower. Property crime is 2,469 per 100,000 in Arkansas against 1,770 in Kentucky, again favoring Kentucky.
Health
Life expectancy is 73.8 years in Arkansas and 73.5 in Kentucky (County Health Rankings, 2024), a 0.3-year edge for Arkansas. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Arkansas's health system 44th of 50 and Kentucky's 24th, so Kentucky scores better on care.
9.4% of Arkansas residents have no health insurance against 6.8% in Kentucky, which favors Kentucky. Both states expanded Medicaid.
Schools
Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Arkansas's K-12 schools 42nd in the country and Kentucky's 34th, 8 places apart in Kentucky's favor. Both states run school-choice voucher programs.
Laws and politics
In the 2024 presidential election Arkansas went to Trump by 28 points and Kentucky went to Trump by 26 points.
Arkansas has permitless carry and a Giffords gun-law grade of F; Kentucky has permitless carry and a grade of F.
Abortion is banned with narrow exceptions in both states, and marijuana is medical only in both as of 2026. The minimum wage is $11.00 an hour in Arkansas and $7.25 in Kentucky.
Climate and risk
Natural disaster risk is high in Arkansas (tornado, flood) and moderate in Kentucky (tornado, flood, ice-storm), so Kentucky is the lower-risk state. Annual average air quality index is 35 in Arkansas and 40 in Kentucky (under 50 is good), favoring Arkansas.
Tax figures use a household earning the national median income and owning each state's median home, at tax year 2026 rates, last checked against state sources on 2026-09-14. The table below has every number.
Taxes
Housing & Cost of Living
Crime & Safety
Healthcare
Education
Childcare
Utilities & Daily Costs
Social Policy
Category wins
6
Arkansas
7
Kentucky
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Score For My Profile →Questions people ask
Is Arkansas or Kentucky better to live in?
Kentucky wins more of the measures that decide a move. Kentucky on taxes ($5,630 a year for a median household against $5,966); Kentucky on safety (228 violent crimes per 100,000 against 619); Kentucky on schools (ranked 34th against 42nd).
Which is cheaper, Arkansas or Kentucky?
Day-to-day costs are level: both states sit at a cost of living index of 85. The median home is $195K in Arkansas and $215K in Kentucky (2024). On state and local taxes Kentucky saves a median household about $340 a year.
Does Arkansas or Kentucky have lower taxes?
Kentucky. A household earning $74,580 pays about $5,966 a year in Arkansas ($2,680 income tax, $1,170 property tax on the median home and $2,117 in sales tax) and $5,630 in Kentucky ($2,610 income tax, $1,677 property tax on the median home and $1,342 in sales tax), at 2026 rates.
Which is safer, Arkansas or Kentucky?
Kentucky, on the FBI's 2023 figures. Violent crime is 619 per 100,000 residents in Arkansas and 228 in Kentucky; property crime is 2,469 against 1,770.
Which has better schools, Arkansas or Kentucky?
Kentucky. Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Arkansas 42nd of 50 for K-12 and Kentucky 34th.
Is Arkansas or Kentucky better for retirees?
Arkansas is friendlier to retirees on paper. Arkansas does not tax Social Security, partly exempts pensions and has no estate or inheritance tax; Kentucky does not tax Social Security, partly exempts pensions and has an inheritance tax. Property tax on a median home is $1,170 a year in Arkansas and $1,677 in Kentucky.