Best PlacesFords Branch, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fords Branch, 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.
Fords Branch ranks 41,804th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Fords Branch
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.
Fords Branch's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fords Branch ranks high
- Short commute19.2 minutes each way, better than 90% of towns
- Cheap childcare$545 a month, better than 88% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 83% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 82% of towns
Where Fords Branch ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of towns
- Household income$49,309 median, better than only 12% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 15% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Fords Branch
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fords Branch home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,309, 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 Fords Branch's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 Fords Branch
Fords Branch's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Fords Branch.
Who works in Fords Branch, and how
Work in Fords Branch centers on health care & social 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 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Fords Branch
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Fords Branch.
What the weather is like in Fords Branch, month by month
Fords Branch sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 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 | 71° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Fords Branch
The nearest airport, Tri-State/Milton J Ferguson Field, is about 64 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 162 miles away.
The best schools in and around Fords Branch
Schools across Fords Branch average a C+, better than 51% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Pikeville Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Valley Elementary SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Pikeville High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Shelby Valley High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fords Branch school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fords Branch 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 Fords Branch against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Fords Branch
Is Fords Branch a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fords Branch ranks 41,804th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on short commutes, affordable childcare, and cell coverage, and lowest on a weak job 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 Fords Branch expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $95,000. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $49,309 median income, cost of living beats 15% of towns.
Is Fords Branch safe?
Fords Branch is safer than 32% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $330 per resident a year.
Compare Fords Branch with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fords Branch. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fords Branch 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.
Fords Branch detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fords Branch: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fords Branch: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fords Branch: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fords Branch: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fords Branch 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.