Best PlacesHigh Plains, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around High Plains, 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.
High Plains ranks 37,074th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. Thin health care access pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on a strong job market.
The best neighborhoods in High Plains
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.
High Plains' strengths and weaknesses
Where High Plains ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 86% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of towns
- QuietBetter than 72% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 67% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 65% of towns
Where High Plains ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of towns
- Short commute39.8 minutes each way, better than only 6% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in High Plains
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median High Plains home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,103, 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 High Plains' effective rate of 0.42%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in High Plains
High Plains'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 High Plains.
Who works in High Plains, and how
Work in High Plains centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in High Plains
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across High Plains.
What the weather is like in High Plains, month by month
High Plains sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 73° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of High Plains
The nearest airport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 117 miles away.
The best schools in and around High Plains
Schools across High Plains average a C, better than 39% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Cecilia Valley Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Custer Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Breckinridge County Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- West Hardin Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Hardin High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Breckinridge County High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every High Plains school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
High Plains 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 High Plains against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in High Plains
Is High Plains a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, High Plains ranks 37,074th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, low property taxes, and quiet, and lowest on thin health care access and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is High Plains expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $156,648. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $73,103 median income, cost of living beats 59% of towns.
Is High Plains safe?
High Plains is safer than 47% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $279 per resident a year.
Compare High Plains with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to High Plains. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in High Plains 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.
High Plains detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for High Plains: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in High Plains: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of High Plains: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in High Plains: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
High Plains 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.