Best Places40873, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 40873, 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.
40873 ranks 31,685th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 40873
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.
40873's strengths and weaknesses
Where 40873 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$461 a month, better than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 75% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 68% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 67% of zip codes
Where 40873 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$32,391 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 40873
A household needs to earn about $18,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 40873 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $32,391, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 40873's effective rate of 0.66%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 40873
40873 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 40873.
Who works in 40873, and how
Work in 40873 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 40873
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 40873.
What the weather is like in 40873, month by month
40873 sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 37° | 30° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 67° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 40873
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 60 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 168 miles away.
The best schools in and around 40873
Schools across 40873 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 40873 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
40873 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 40873 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 40873
Is 40873 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 40873 ranks 31,685th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, tree cover, and heat safety, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 40873 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $69,768. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $32,391 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 40873 safe?
40873 is safer than 35% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $342 per resident a year.
Compare 40873 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 40873. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 40873 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.
40873 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 40873: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 40873: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 40873: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 40873: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
40873 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.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- 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.