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Place dossier plate
SheetKY-COAL-RUN-KY · Coal Run, KY 1,888 pop · income 15th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Coal Run
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Coal Run on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Pineville · lowest
25,385
Pineville · lowest
25,385 median HH income
24.1% of the leader · rank #1
Dilley · near
47,210
Dilley · near
47,210 median HH income
44.9% of the leader · rank #2
Coal Run · this city
47,212
Coal Run · this city
47,212 median HH income
44.9% of the leader · rank #3
Shady Point · near
47,212
Shady Point · near
47,212 median HH income
44.9% of the leader · rank #4
Russellville · near
47,214
Russellville · near
47,214 median HH income
44.9% of the leader · rank #5
Omaha · near
47,216
Omaha · near
47,216 median HH income
44.9% of the leader · rank #6
St. Regis Park · highest
105,183
St. Regis Park · highest
105,183 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Coal Run on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,888.
Coal Run ranks in the 15th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
15th
percentile, household income
18th
percentile, home value
10th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Coal Run, KY
Kentucky's Coal Run is a small town, with 1,888 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Coal Run households earn a median of $47,212 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 21.1%. Coal Run's housing stock carries a median value of $120,700, and the median resident age is 41.0 years. Educational attainment runs 22.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 51.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 1 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Stable), up 0% from five years earlier.
Living costs in Kentucky run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Kentucky scores 90.2 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $984 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Kentucky's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 44.2 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Coal Run's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to comparison shortlist to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Coal Run, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Coal Run growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -95 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -5.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Coal Run?
Within Kentucky, the closest population matches are Salyersville (1,891 residents, $30,714 income); Worthington Hills (1,872 residents, $78,365 income); Pineville (1,906 residents, $25,385 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Coleraine, MN (1,888 residents); Laughlin AFB, TX (1,888 residents); Lillian, AL (1,889 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
How far does income reach against housing in Coal Run?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 21.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
What does the journey to work look like in Coal Run?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 86.2%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A
90.2 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share D
22.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$47,212
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
21.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Coal Run profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.2 index
Bachelor's+ share: 42/100 (D) · 22.7%
Household income: 17/100 (F) · $47,212
Poverty rate: 11/100 (F) · 21.1%
How does Coal Run compare to other US cities?
Where Coal Run sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income15% higher than other cities
Home value18% pricier than other cities
Median rent10% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Coal Run against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Kentucky only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Kentucky-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Coal Run near the bottom of Kentucky's cities
Among the 520 Kentucky cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Coal Run ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Coal Run only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#313 of 485
35th percentile in Kentucky
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 520
0th percentile in Kentucky
Median Home Value
#306 of 484
37th percentile in Kentucky
Poverty Rate
#132 of 519
74th percentile in Kentucky
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#204 of 520
61st percentile in Kentucky
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Kentucky only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
15th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Coal Run's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$120,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 82% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Coal Run's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,295 of 15,516
More affordable than 72% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,846 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.6×, Coal Run sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,295 of 15,516 and #3,846 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$47,212Coal Run, KY median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Coal Run, KY median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Coal Run, KY.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)22.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)21.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)51.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,888
Median Income
$47,212
Median Home Value
$120,700
Median Age
41.0
Poverty Rate
21.1%
Labor force participation
51.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
22.7%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Coal Run's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,660 residents
2021
1,638 residents
2022
1,611 residents
2023
1,596 residents
2024
1,577 residents
2025
1,565 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Stable
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.3M
2020
2
2
0
$0.2M
2021
3
3
0
$0.7M
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
1
1
0
$0.3M
Permit volume increased 0% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
86.2%
Carpool
6.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
5.7%
Other
1.7%
Based on 784 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Kentucky statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Kentucky at $225 (electricity about $115 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are Kentucky statewide averages, not a meter reading for Coal Run. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Kentucky's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.2 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Coal Run is $984/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Kentucky statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 44.2 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Kentucky statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Coal Run sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Coal Run compares to similar-size Kentucky cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.