Best PlacesMcCreary County, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McCreary 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.
McCreary County ranks 3,092nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in McCreary 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.
McCreary County's strengths and weaknesses
Where McCreary County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 99% of counties
- Cheap childcare$439 a month, better than 97% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 82% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 70% of counties
Where McCreary County ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 1% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of counties
- Household income$34,414 median, better than only 1% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 2% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McCreary County
A household needs to earn about $22,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McCreary County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $34,414, 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 McCreary County's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McCreary County
McCreary 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 McCreary County.
Who works in McCreary County, and how
Work in McCreary County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in McCreary County
McCreary County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of McCreary County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is McCreary County growing, and who is moving in?
McCreary County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Lawton, OK.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McCreary County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McCreary County, month by month
McCreary County sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 37° | 30° |
| April | 69° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of McCreary County
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 67 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 130 miles away.
The best schools in and around McCreary County
Schools across McCreary County average a D+, better than 10% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Pine Knot Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Pleasant View Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Winfield ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mccreary County Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Mccreary Central High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McCreary County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McCreary 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 McCreary County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in McCreary County
Is McCreary County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McCreary County ranks 3,092nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, affordable childcare, and heat safety, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McCreary County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $88,032. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $34,414 median income, cost of living beats 1% of counties.
Is McCreary County safe?
McCreary County is safer than 27% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $367 per resident a year.
Compare McCreary County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McCreary County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McCreary 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.
McCreary County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McCreary County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McCreary County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McCreary County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McCreary County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McCreary 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.