Best PlacesSmoky Valley, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Smoky Valley, 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.
Smoky Valley ranks 42,733rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Smoky Valley
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.
Smoky Valley's strengths and weaknesses
Where Smoky Valley ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of towns
- Cheap childcare$545 a month, better than 88% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 75% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 74% of towns
Where Smoky Valley ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 9% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Smoky Valley
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Smoky Valley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,517, 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 Smoky Valley's effective rate of 0.38%, 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 Smoky Valley
Smoky Valley runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Smoky Valley.
Who works in Smoky Valley, and how
Work in Smoky Valley centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Smoky Valley
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Smoky Valley.
What the weather is like in Smoky Valley, month by month
Smoky Valley sees roughly 63 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 Smoky Valley
The nearest airport, Tri-State/Milton J Ferguson Field, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around Smoky Valley
Schools across Smoky Valley average a C−, better than 28% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Carter City Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Laurel Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Olive Hill Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lewis County Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- West Carter Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- East Carter Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Lewis County High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- West Carter County High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Smoky Valley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Smoky Valley 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 Smoky Valley against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Smoky Valley
Is Smoky Valley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Smoky Valley ranks 42,733rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, low property taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on biking and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Smoky Valley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $151,313. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $68,517 median income, cost of living beats 49% of towns.
Is Smoky Valley safe?
Smoky Valley is safer than 40% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $308 per resident a year.
Compare Smoky Valley with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Smoky Valley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Smoky Valley 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.
Smoky Valley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Smoky Valley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Smoky Valley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Smoky Valley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Smoky Valley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Smoky Valley 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.