Best PlacesHancock County, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hancock County, 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.
Hancock County ranks 2,070th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The weather pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low crime.
The best neighborhoods in Hancock 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.
Hancock County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hancock County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 67% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 65% of counties
Where Hancock County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 12% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hancock County
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hancock County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,593, 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 Hancock County's effective rate of 0.65%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hancock County
Hancock 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 Hancock County.
Who works in Hancock County, and how
Work in Hancock County centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Hancock County
Hancock County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Hancock County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hancock County growing, and who is moving in?
Hancock County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Owensboro, KY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hancock County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hancock County, month by month
Hancock County sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 70° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Hancock County
The nearest airport, Owensboro/Daviess County Regional, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 121 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hancock County
Schools across Hancock County average a C, better than 34% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- South Hancock Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- North Hancock Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hancock County Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Hancock County High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hancock County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hancock 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 Hancock County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Hancock County
Is Hancock County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hancock County ranks 2,070th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, tree cover, and few empty homes, and lowest on the weather and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hancock County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $145,197. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $68,593 median income, cost of living beats 67% of counties.
Is Hancock County safe?
Yes, Hancock County is safer than 90% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $210 per resident a year.
Compare Hancock County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hancock County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hancock 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.
Hancock County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hancock County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hancock County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hancock County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hancock County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hancock 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.