Moving to Kentucky from Arkansas
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Arkansas to Kentucky — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Arkansas to Kentucky, you would find that Kentucky is 3.2% more expensive than Arkansas. A $75,000 salary in Arkansas would need to be roughly $77,400 in Kentucky to maintain the same lifestyle. Little Rock and Louisville are about 440 mi apart.
Is Kentucky cheaper than Arkansas?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 17.4% less
Groceries
pay 12.2% more
Transportation
pay 11.3% more
Housing
pay 1.4% less
Childcare
pay 40.3% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.6% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Kentucky?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $77,400
To maintain the same standard of living in Kentucky
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
How Arkansas and Kentucky stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Kentucky performs significantly better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Kentucky performs significantly better than Arkansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Arkansas generally does better on what about housing?, though Kentucky leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Arkansas generally does better on infrastructure, though Kentucky leads in internet access.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Kentucky generally does better on employment & economy, though Arkansas leads in poverty rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Arkansas generally does better on family life, though Kentucky leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Kentucky vs Arkansas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Little Rock | Louisville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 56°/38°F (13°/3°C) | 50°/32°F (10°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 80°/61°F (27°/16°C) | 77°/57°F (25°/14°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/70°F (32°/21°C) | 86°/66°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 62°/44°F (17°/7°C) | 58°/40°F (14°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Little Rock | Louisville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49°/33°F (9.7°/0.4°C) | 43°/27°F (6.1°/-2.9°C) |
| Feb | 54°/36°F (12.4°/2.4°C) | 48°/30°F (8.8°/-1.2°C) |
| Mar | 64°/44°F (17.6°/6.8°C) | 58°/38°F (14.4°/3.2°C) |
| Apr | 73°/53°F (22.7°/11.6°C) | 69°/47°F (20.4°/8.5°C) |
| May | 80°/62°F (26.8°/16.4°C) | 77°/57°F (25.1°/13.9°C) |
| Jun | 88°/69°F (31.2°/20.7°C) | 85°/66°F (29.6°/18.9°C) |
| Jul | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) | 89°/70°F (31.5°/21.1°C) |
| Aug | 92°/72°F (33.3°/22.2°C) | 88°/69°F (31.3°/20.3°C) |
| Sep | 84°/65°F (29.1°/18.1°C) | 82°/60°F (27.5°/15.8°C) |
| Oct | 73°/54°F (23.0°/12.3°C) | 70°/49°F (21.2°/9.4°C) |
| Nov | 62°/44°F (16.5°/6.6°C) | 58°/40°F (14.4°/4.2°C) |
| Dec | 51°/35°F (10.7°/1.7°C) | 46°/30°F (7.7°/-1.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Kentucky than Arkansas?
Day-to-day costs in Kentucky run about 3% higher than Arkansas on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Kentucky?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $19,350 in Kentucky for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Kentucky safe?
Kentucky performs significantly better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Kentucky compared to Arkansas?
Kentucky performs significantly better than Arkansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Kentucky compared to Arkansas?
The average high temperature in Louisville is 68°F, compared to 72°F in Little Rock. Louisville receives around 44.9 in of rainfall per year, while Little Rock gets 50.0 in.
