Best Places40988, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 40988, 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.
40988 ranks 31,410th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 40988
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.
40988's strengths and weaknesses
Where 40988 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$461 a month, better than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 40988 ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Household income$44,252 median, better than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 40988
A household needs to earn about $18,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 40988 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $44,252, 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 40988's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 40988
40988 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 40988.
Who works in 40988, and how
Work in 40988 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in 40988
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 40988.
What the weather is like in 40988, month by month
40988 sees roughly 89 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 40988
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 66 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 164 miles away.
The best schools in and around 40988
Schools across 40988 average a C−, better than 21% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Page School CenterC− · 28% proficient
- Wallins Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Bell County High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Harlan County High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 40988 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
40988 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 40988 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 40988
Is 40988 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 40988 ranks 31,410th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, affordable childcare, and tree cover, and lowest on health outcomes and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 40988 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $72,895. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $44,252 median income, cost of living beats 9% of zip codes.
Is 40988 safe?
40988 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $322 per resident a year.
Compare 40988 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 40988. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 40988 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.
40988 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 40988: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 40988: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 40988: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 40988: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
40988 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.