Best PlacesPactolus, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Pactolus, 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.
Pactolus ranks 42,315th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Pactolus
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.
Pactolus' strengths and weaknesses
Where Pactolus ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 92% of towns
- Cheap childcare$544 a month, better than 88% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of towns
Where Pactolus ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 13% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 15% of towns
- Household income$53,601 median, better than only 17% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Pactolus
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pactolus home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,601, 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 Pactolus' effective rate of 0.49%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Pactolus
Pactolus runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Pactolus.
Who works in Pactolus, and how
Work in Pactolus centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Pactolus
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Pactolus.
What the weather is like in Pactolus, month by month
Pactolus sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 46, 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 | 46° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 70° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 73° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Pactolus
The nearest airport, Tri-State/Milton J Ferguson Field, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 105 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pactolus
Schools across Pactolus average a C, better than 32% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Carter City Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Star Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Prichard Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wurtland Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- East Carter Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- East Carter County High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Greenup County High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- West Carter County High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pactolus school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pactolus 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 Pactolus against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Pactolus
Is Pactolus a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pactolus ranks 42,315th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, affordable childcare, and tree cover, and lowest on the weather 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 Pactolus expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $161,465. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $53,601 median income, cost of living beats 19% of towns.
Is Pactolus safe?
Pactolus is safer than 22% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $390 per resident a year.
Compare Pactolus with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pactolus. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pactolus 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.
Pactolus detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pactolus: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pactolus: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pactolus: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pactolus: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pactolus 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.