State comparison
Delaware vs Kentucky: which state is better to live in?
Delaware and Kentucky cost a median household almost the same in state and local taxes, $5,831 a year against $6,003, so the choice comes down to housing, safety and schools.
Delaware
Low tax burden · COL index 102
Wins 7 categories
Kentucky
Moderate tax burden · COL index 85
Wins 7 categories
Taxes: Delaware vs Kentucky
Delaware has a graduated income tax topping out at 6.6%, which works out to 5.2% on a median income of $74,580, or $3,906 a year. Kentucky has a flat 4% income tax, which works out to 4.0% on a median income of $74,580, or $2,983 a year. Kentucky wins on income tax at 2026 rates.
Property tax is 0.55% of home value a year in Delaware and 0.78% in Kentucky (Tax Foundation, 2023); on each state's median home that is $1,925 against $1,677, so Delaware has the lower rate.
Delaware has no sales tax; combined state and local sales tax averages 6.00% in Kentucky.
Add it up for a household earning $74,580 (the 2022 national median) and owning the median home: $5,831 a year in Delaware, $6,003 in Kentucky. Delaware is cheaper on total state and local tax.
Housing and cost of living
Delaware's cost of living index is 102 and Kentucky's is 85, where 100 is the national average; Kentucky is about 20% cheaper day to day.
The median home costs $350K in Delaware and $215K in Kentucky (Zillow, 2024), a $135K gap in Kentucky's favor. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,550 a month in Delaware and $1,050 in Kentucky.
Home insurance averages $700 a year in Delaware and $1,800 in Kentucky, so Delaware is cheaper to insure.
Safety
Violent crime runs 446 incidents per 100,000 residents in Delaware and 228 in Kentucky (FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2023); Kentucky is the safer state by that measure, with a rate 96% lower. Property crime is 1,827 per 100,000 in Delaware against 1,770 in Kentucky, again favoring Kentucky.
Health
Life expectancy is 76.6 years in Delaware and 73.5 in Kentucky (County Health Rankings, 2024), a 3.1-year edge for Delaware. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Delaware's health system 18th of 50 and Kentucky's 24th, so Delaware scores better on care.
6.3% of Delaware residents have no health insurance against 6.8% in Kentucky, which favors Delaware. Both states expanded Medicaid.
Schools
Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Delaware's K-12 schools 24th in the country and Kentucky's 34th, 10 places apart in Delaware's favor. Kentucky runs a school-choice voucher program; Delaware does not.
Laws and politics
In the 2024 presidential election Delaware went to Harris by 8 points and Kentucky went to Trump by 26 points.
Delaware has may-issue carry permits and a Giffords gun-law grade of A-; Kentucky has permitless carry and a grade of F, so Delaware regulates guns more tightly and Kentucky is the friendlier state for gun owners.
Abortion is protected by state law in Delaware and banned with narrow exceptions in Kentucky, and marijuana is legal for adults in Delaware and medical only in Kentucky as of 2026. The minimum wage is $13.25 an hour in Delaware and $7.25 in Kentucky.
Climate and risk
Natural disaster risk is moderate in Delaware (hurricane, flood) and moderate in Kentucky (tornado, flood, ice-storm). Annual average air quality index is 35 in Delaware and 40 in Kentucky (under 50 is good), favoring Delaware.
Tax figures use a household earning the national median income and owning each state's median home, at rates in force as of 2026-09-04. The table below has every number.
Taxes
Housing & Cost of Living
Crime & Safety
Healthcare
Education
Childcare
Utilities & Daily Costs
Social Policy
Category wins
7
Delaware
7
Kentucky
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Score For My Profile →Questions people ask
Is Delaware or Kentucky better to live in?
It depends on what you weigh most. Delaware on taxes ($5,831 a year for a median household against $6,003); Kentucky on everyday costs (index 85 against 102); Kentucky on safety (228 violent crimes per 100,000 against 446); Delaware on schools (ranked 24th against 34th).
Which is cheaper, Delaware or Kentucky?
Kentucky is cheaper day to day: cost of living index 85 against 102. The median home is $350K in Delaware and $215K in Kentucky (2024). On state and local taxes Delaware saves a median household about $170 a year.
Does Delaware or Kentucky have lower taxes?
Delaware. A household earning $74,580 pays about $5,831 a year in Delaware ($3,906 income tax, $1,925 property tax on the median home and $0 in sales tax) and $6,003 in Kentucky ($2,983 income tax, $1,677 property tax on the median home and $1,342 in sales tax), at 2026 rates.
Which is safer, Delaware or Kentucky?
Kentucky, on the FBI's 2023 figures. Violent crime is 446 per 100,000 residents in Delaware and 228 in Kentucky; property crime is 1,827 against 1,770.
Which has better schools, Delaware or Kentucky?
Delaware. Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Delaware 24th of 50 for K-12 and Kentucky 34th. Kentucky also offers school-choice vouchers.
Is Delaware or Kentucky better for retirees?
Delaware is friendlier to retirees on paper. Delaware 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 $1,925 a year in Delaware and $1,677 in Kentucky.