Best PlacesClark County, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Clark County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Clark County ranks 1,950th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. An overheated housing market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on fast internet.
The best neighborhoods in Clark County
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.
Clark County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Clark County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 80% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 78% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 73% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 72% of counties
Where Clark County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of counties
- School gradeC−, better than only 22% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 24% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 74 pleasant days a year, better than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Clark County
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clark County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,756, 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 Clark County's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Clark County
Clark County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Clark County.
Who works in Clark County, and how
Work in Clark County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Clark County
Clark County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Clark County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Clark County growing, and who is moving in?
Clark County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Lexington, KY metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Clark County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Clark County, month by month
Clark County sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 27° |
| April | 67° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Clark County
The nearest airport, Blue Grass, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around Clark County
Schools across Clark County average a C−, better than 22% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Athens-chilesburg ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Brenda Cowan ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Garrett Morgan ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- B. Michael Caudill Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Edythe Jones Hayes Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Rev. Henry E. Baker Sr. Interm. SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Montgomery County High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Bourbon County High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- George Rogers Clark High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clark County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clark County 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 Clark County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Clark County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 13% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Clark County
Is Clark County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clark County ranks 1,950th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, few empty homes, and walkability, and lowest on an overheated housing market and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Clark County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $220,679. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $68,756 median income, cost of living beats 60% of counties.
Is Clark County safe?
Clark County is safer than 46% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $311 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Clark County?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 27. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 29% of counties.
Is Clark County good for families?
Schools beat 22% of counties, crime safety beats 46%, and childcare runs $785 a month.
Compare Clark County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clark County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clark County 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.
Clark County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clark County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clark County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clark County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clark County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clark County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.