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