Best PlacesLaurel County, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Laurel County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Laurel County ranks 2,485th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Laurel 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 Laurel County
The parts of Laurel 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.
Keavy
It is quieter, prices have run up less, and tree cover is thicker.
London
Streets are more walkable, though more homes sit empty.
East Bernstadt
Scores close to London, except that biking is worse here.
Corbin
Local pay stretches less far and incomes run lower.
Lily
More households have young kids, though health care is harder to reach.
Scores across Laurel County run from about the 4th to the 58th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Laurel County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Laurel County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$461 a month, better than 96% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 85% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 72% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 66% of counties
Where Laurel County ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 8% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 17% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Laurel County
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Laurel County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,656, 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 Laurel County's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Laurel County
Laurel 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 Laurel County.
Who works in Laurel County, and how
Work in Laurel County centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Laurel County
Laurel County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 71% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Laurel County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Laurel County growing, and who is moving in?
Laurel County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Whitley County, KY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Laurel County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Laurel County, month by month
Laurel County sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 26° |
| April | 72° | 57° | 43° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Laurel County
The nearest airport, Blue Grass, is about 71 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around Laurel County
Schools across Laurel County average a C+, better than 58% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Sublimity Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Bush Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Cold Hill Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Laurel Middle SchoolB+ · 47% proficient
- Corbin Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- South Laurel Middle SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- North Laurel High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- South Laurel High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Rockcastle County High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Laurel County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Laurel 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 Laurel County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Laurel County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Laurel County
Is Laurel County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Laurel County ranks 2,485th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, tree cover, and low property taxes, and lowest on thin health care access 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 Laurel County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $160,206. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $58,656 median income, cost of living beats 29% of counties.
Is Laurel County safe?
Laurel County is safer than 54% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $290 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Laurel County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 26. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 12% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Laurel County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Keavy, London, and East Bernstadt. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Laurel County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Laurel County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Laurel 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.
Laurel County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Laurel County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Laurel County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Laurel County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Laurel County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Laurel 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.