Best Places40820, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 40820, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
40820 ranks 30,449th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 40820
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
40820's strengths and weaknesses
Where 40820 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute13.6 minutes each way, better than 98% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$461 a month, better than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 40820 ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
Who lives in 40820
40820 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 40820.
Who works in 40820, and how
Work in 40820 centers on retail trade and other services. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 40820
40820 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 40820 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 40820, month by month
40820 sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 72° | 57° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 40820
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 164 miles away.
The best schools in and around 40820
Schools across 40820 average a D, better than 10% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wallins Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Harlan County High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 40820 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
40820 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 40820 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 40820
Is 40820 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 40820 ranks 30,449th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, short commutes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on health outcomes and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 40820 safe?
40820 is safer than 25% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $398 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 40820?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 46 with lows near 27. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 38% of zip codes.
Compare 40820 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 40820. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 40820 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
40820 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 40820: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 40820: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 40820: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 40820: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
40820 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.