Best PlacesWhitley County, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Whitley 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.
Whitley County ranks 2,774th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Whitley 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.
Whitley County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Whitley County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$461 a month, better than 96% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 87% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 81% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 80% of counties
Where Whitley County ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 7% of counties
- Household income$50,068 median, better than only 8% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 11% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Whitley County
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Whitley County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,068, 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 Whitley County's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Whitley County
Whitley County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Whitley County.
Who works in Whitley County, and how
Work in Whitley County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Whitley County
Whitley County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Whitley County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Whitley County growing, and who is moving in?
Whitley County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Knox County, KY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Whitley County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Whitley County, month by month
Whitley County sees roughly 80 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 Whitley County
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 70 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 149 miles away.
The best schools in and around Whitley County
Schools across Whitley County average a C−, better than 25% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Corbin Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Whitley Central Intermediate SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Whitley County East Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Whitley County Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Corbin High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Whitley County High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Whitley County Alternative SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Whitley County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Whitley 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 Whitley County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Whitley County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Whitley County
Is Whitley County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Whitley County ranks 2,774th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, tree cover, and a strong job market, and lowest on thin health care access and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Whitley County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $139,359. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $50,068 median income, cost of living beats 11% of counties.
Is Whitley County safe?
Whitley County is safer than 43% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $318 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Whitley County?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 46 with lows near 30. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 38% of counties.
Is Whitley County good for families?
Schools beat 25% of counties, crime safety beats 43%, and childcare runs $461 a month.
Compare Whitley County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Whitley County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Whitley 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.
Whitley County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Whitley County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Whitley County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Whitley County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Whitley County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Whitley 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.