Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetKY-NICHOLASVILLE-KY · Nicholasville, KY 31,625 pop · income 46th pct · 11 tracts
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 Nicholasville
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Nicholasville on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hopkinsville · lowest
47,428
Hopkinsville · lowest
47,428 median HH income
34.4% of the leader · rank #1
Austell · near
67,500
Austell · near
67,500 median HH income
48.9% of the leader · rank #2
Ashkum · near
67,500
Ashkum · near
67,500 median HH income
48.9% of the leader · rank #3
Nicholasville · this city
67,514
Nicholasville · this city
67,514 median HH income
48.9% of the leader · rank #4
Palm Bay · near
67,521
Palm Bay · near
67,521 median HH income
48.9% of the leader · rank #5
Galeton · near
67,521
Galeton · near
67,521 median HH income
48.9% of the leader · rank #6
Bel Air North · highest
137,995
Bel Air North · highest
137,995 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Nicholasville on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 31,625.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Nicholasville - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Nicholasville lands in the 46th percentile for household income and the 42nd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
46th
percentile, household income
46th
percentile, home value
10th
percentile, median rent
42nd
percentile, safety
📝 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: Nicholasville, KY
Nicholasville is a small city in Kentucky, home to 31,625 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Nicholasville households earn a median of $67,514 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.5%. Home values in Nicholasville run a median of $210,700, and the median resident age is 38.2 years. 27.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 61.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 190 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 54% from five years earlier. Nicholasville reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1609.6 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
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. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $984 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $225 across Kentucky, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 44.2 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Nicholasville'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 work and mobility to comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to reported crime to within-city variation to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Nicholasville, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Nicholasville?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 81.0%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Nicholasville?
Within Kentucky, the closest population matches are Elizabethtown (31,870 residents, $56,250 income); Hopkinsville (31,011 residents, $47,428 income); Florence (32,334 residents, $68,508 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Mundelein, IL (31,632 residents); Naugatuck, CT (31,634 residents); Middle River, MD (31,616 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Is Nicholasville growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +2,714 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +8.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 190 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What can 11 Census tracts reveal inside Nicholasville?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 11 Census tracts to this city.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Nicholasville?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.5%, 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.
Household income
$67,514
Home value
$210,700
Value / income
3.1×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Nicholasville?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1609.6 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 29% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1497.0
Violent rate
112.6
Total reported rate
1609.6
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the education layer cover for Nicholasville?
The NCES join finds 11 public schools within the city match. 27.0% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
11
Bachelor's degree+
27.0%
Poverty estimate
10.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 10.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.2 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Kentucky average
C
City profile score · Nicholasville, KY
58/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
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.
Violent crime B-
113 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C-
27.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income D
$67,514
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
10.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Nicholasville profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.2 index
Violent crime: 68/100 (B-) · 113 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 53/100 (C-) · 27.0%
Household income: 46/100 (D) · $67,514
Poverty rate: 38/100 (F) · 10.5%
Where Nicholasville sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Nicholasville's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Nicholasville highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Nicholasville, KY (this city): home $210,700, crime 1,610/100k
Mundelein, IL : home $285,600, crime 772/100k
Naugatuck, CT : home $241,600, crime 1,071/100k
Bangor, ME : home $206,300, crime 4,399/100k
Fitchburg, WI : home $389,400, crime 1,616/100k
Elizabethtown, KY : home $223,200, crime 835/100k
Hopkinsville, KY : home $140,200, crime 2,952/100k
Florence, KY : home $196,200, crime 3,445/100k
Independence, KY : home $240,500, crime 343/100k
Jeffersontown, KY : home $236,800, crime 2,381/100k
Frankfort, KY : home $171,600, crime 1,846/100k
How does Nicholasville compare to other US cities?
Here's how Nicholasville stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income46% higher than other cities
Home value46% pricier than other cities
Median rent10% pricier than other cities
Safety42% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Kentucky alone, Nicholasville ranks #146 of 181 Kentucky cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Nicholasville 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 Nicholasville near the bottom of Kentucky's cities
Among the 520 Kentucky cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Nicholasville ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Nicholasville only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#172 of 485
65th percentile in Kentucky
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 520
0th percentile in Kentucky
Median Home Value
#133 of 484
72nd percentile in Kentucky
Poverty Rate
#272 of 519
47th percentile in Kentucky
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#168 of 520
68th 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
46th percentile nationally for median household income · 42nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Nicholasville's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Nicholasville's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Nicholasville's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$210,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 54% 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
Nicholasville's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,290 of 15,516
More affordable than 53% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,074 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.1×, Nicholasville sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,290 of 15,516 and #1,074 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$67,514Nicholasville, KY median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Nicholasville, 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 Nicholasville, KY.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)27.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)61.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
31,625
Median Income
$67,514
Median Home Value
$210,700
Median Age
38.2
Poverty Rate
10.5%
Labor force participation
61.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
27.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1609.6
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
112.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1497.0
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
11
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Nicholasville's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
31,143 residents
2021
31,544 residents
2022
32,028 residents
2023
32,658 residents
2024
33,323 residents
2025
33,857 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
190
housing units authorized
Single-Family
171
detached homes
Multifamily
19
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
123
108
15
$18.4M
2020
144
120
24
$21.9M
2021
241
237
4
$31.1M
2022
150
126
24
$30.2M
2023
321
193
128
$54.8M
2024
190
171
19
$60.5M
Permit volume increased 54% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
81.0%
Carpool
9.7%
Public Transit
0.6%
Walk
0.2%
Work from Home
8.3%
Based on 14,826 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 Nicholasville. 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 Nicholasville 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 Nicholasville sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Nicholasville 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, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, 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.