Best PlacesKenton County, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Kenton County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Kenton County ranks 997th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $88,896, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are the weather, noise, and car insurance costs.
The best neighborhoods in Kenton 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.
The best areas in Kenton County
The parts of Kenton County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Villa Hills
More adults hold degrees, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Fort Mitchell
Biking is worse and streets are more car-dependent.
Independence
Fewer homes sit empty and prices have run up less.
Erlanger, Elsmere & Lakeside Park
Commutes are shorter, though it is noisier.
Ludlow, Fort Wright & Park Hills
Transit reaches more jobs, though fewer households have young kids.
Latonia & Taylor Mill
Schools score lower and health care is harder to reach.
Covington
Fewer residents vote and crime runs higher.
Kenton County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 9%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Kenton County's strengths and weaknesses
Kenton County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Transit, cell coverage, and what local pay buys carry most of that.
The one real hole is the weather, near the bottom of the country. Noise and car insurance costs also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Kenton County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 94% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 89% of counties
- Household income$88,896 median, better than 86% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of counties
Where Kenton County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 5% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 12% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 31% of counties
- Cheap childcare$866 a month, better than only 32% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Kenton County
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kenton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,896, 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 Kenton County's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 Kenton County
Kenton County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Kenton County.
Who works in Kenton County, and how
Work in Kenton 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 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Kenton County
Kenton County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of counties and more parkland per resident than 70% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Kenton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Kenton County growing, and who is moving in?
Kenton County has grown about 7% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Cincinnati, OH metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Kenton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Kenton County, month by month
Kenton County sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Kenton County
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International sits about 7 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.4 million passengers in 2025, with 99 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Kenton County
Schools across Kenton County average a C, better than 35% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Beechwood Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Donald E. Cline Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Delshire Elementary SchoolA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Delhi Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Turkey Foot Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Woodland Middle SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Beechwood High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Dixie Heights High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Simon Kenton High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kenton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kenton 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 Kenton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Kenton County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Kenton County
Is Kenton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kenton County ranks 997th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, cell coverage, and what local pay buys, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kenton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $261,428. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $88,896 median income, cost of living beats 89% of counties.
Is Kenton County safe?
Kenton County is safer than 35% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $350 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Kenton County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 23. That works out to about 55 pleasant days a year, more than 2% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Kenton County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Villa Hills, Fort Mitchell, and Independence. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Kenton County good for families?
Schools beat 35% of counties, crime safety beats 35%, and childcare runs $866 a month.
Is Kenton County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 64% of counties. About 14% of workers already work from home.
Compare Kenton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kenton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kenton 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.
Kenton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kenton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kenton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kenton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kenton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kenton 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.