Best PlacesRussell County, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Russell 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.
Russell County ranks 2,838th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Russell 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.
Russell County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Russell County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$439 a month, better than 97% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of counties
- Short commute19.8 minutes each way, better than 80% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 70% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 69% of counties
Where Russell County ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of counties
- Household income$47,402 median, better than only 5% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Russell County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Russell County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $47,402, 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 Russell 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Russell County
Russell County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Russell County.
Who works in Russell County, and how
Work in Russell County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Russell County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Russell County.
Is Russell County growing, and who is moving in?
Russell County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Pulaski County, KY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Russell County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Russell County, month by month
Russell County sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 48, 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 | 48° | 35° | 25° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 43° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 74° | 58° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Russell County
The nearest airport, Blue Grass, is about 74 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 110 miles away.
The best schools in and around Russell County
Schools across Russell County average a C, better than 33% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Salem Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Russell Springs Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Jamestown Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Russell County Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Russell County High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Russell County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Russell 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 Russell County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Russell County
Is Russell County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Russell County ranks 2,838th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on health outcomes and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Russell County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $171,523. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $47,402 median income, cost of living beats 8% of counties.
Is Russell County safe?
Russell County is safer than 44% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $311 per resident a year.
Compare Russell County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Russell County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Russell 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.
Russell County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Russell County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Russell County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Russell County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Russell County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Russell 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.