Best PlacesPanther, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Panther, 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.
Panther ranks 27,557th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Panther
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.
Panther's strengths and weaknesses
Where Panther ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of towns
- Cheap childcare$570 a month, better than 82% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 79% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 77% of towns
- Short commute23.2 minutes each way, better than 73% of towns
Where Panther ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 15% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- School gradeC−, better than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Panther
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Panther home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,569, 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 Panther's effective rate of 0.74%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Panther
Panther runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 Panther.
Who works in Panther, and how
Work in Panther centers on manufacturing and other services. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Panther
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Panther.
What the weather is like in Panther, month by month
Panther sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 70° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Panther
The nearest airport, Owensboro/Daviess County Regional, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 109 miles away.
The best schools in and around Panther
Schools across Panther average a C−, better than 26% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Southern Oaks Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- West Louisville Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- College View Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- F T Burns Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Apollo High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Panther school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Panther 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 Panther against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Panther
Is Panther a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Panther ranks 27,557th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, affordable childcare, and fast internet, and lowest on a weak job market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Panther expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $148,800. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $66,569 median income, cost of living beats 57% of towns.
Is Panther safe?
Yes, Panther is safer than 77% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $202 per resident a year.
Compare Panther with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Panther. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Panther 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.
Panther detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Panther: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Panther: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Panther: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Panther: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Panther 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.