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Place dossier plate
SheetKY-PAINTSVILLE-KY · Paintsville, KY 4,256 pop · income 2nd pct · 7 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 Paintsville
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Paintsville on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Paintsville · this city · lowest
26,713
Paintsville · this city · lowest
26,713 median HH income
34.9% of the leader · rank #1
Century · near
26,716
Century · near
26,716 median HH income
34.9% of the leader · rank #2
Naper · near
26,719
Naper · near
26,719 median HH income
34.9% of the leader · rank #3
Camilla · near
26,720
Camilla · near
26,720 median HH income
34.9% of the leader · rank #4
Kingsland · near
26,731
Kingsland · near
26,731 median HH income
34.9% of the leader · rank #5
Crescent Spri… · highest
76,530
Crescent Spri… · highest
76,530 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 Paintsville 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: 4,256.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Paintsville - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Paintsville places in the 2nd percentile for household income and the 97th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
2nd
percentile, household income
13th
percentile, home value
10th
percentile, median rent
97th
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: Paintsville, KY
4,256 people live in Paintsville, Kentucky - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Paintsville brings in $26,713 a year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 34.1%. Paintsville's housing stock carries a median value of $110,800, and the median resident age is 41.9 years. 17.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 44.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Paintsville (No Permits), per Census BPS data. Paintsville reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 145.9 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). NOAA puts Paintsville's yearly average temperature at 55.3°F with 46.2 inches of precipitation per year.
Living costs in Kentucky run below the national norm: the state registers 90.2 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $984 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Kentucky run around $225, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. 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 Paintsville'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 schools and households to housing and income to reported crime to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context to within-city variation to work and mobility to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Paintsville, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What does the education layer cover for Paintsville?
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 17.2% 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Paintsville?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 34.1%, 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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Which cities make useful reference points for Paintsville?
Within Kentucky, the closest population matches are Ludlow (4,378 residents, $58,295 income); Scottsville (4,391 residents, $36,259 income); Crescent Springs (4,402 residents, $76,530 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Shenandoah, PA (4,256 residents); Suncoast Estates, FL (4,255 residents); North Braddock, PA (4,255 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.
What can 7 Census tracts reveal inside Paintsville?
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.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Paintsville?
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 145.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 94% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
145.9
Violent rate
0.0
Total reported rate
145.9
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What physical conditions frame life in Paintsville?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 55.3°F, with 46.2 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Kentucky is 44.2 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
55.3°F
Annual precipitation
46.2 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
44.2
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
What does the journey to work look like in Paintsville?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
15.4%
Drive alone
78.7%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,412 workers age 16+.
Is Paintsville 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 -197 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -4.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-4.6%
2025 estimate
4,111
2020 estimate
4,308
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 34.1% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.2 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Kentucky average
D
City profile score · Paintsville, KY
40/100
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.
Violent crime A+
0 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
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 F
17.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$26,713
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
34.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Paintsville profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 97/100 (A+) · 0 /100k
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.2 index
Bachelor's+ share: 26/100 (F) · 17.2%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $26,713
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 34.1%
Where Paintsville sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Paintsville'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 - Paintsville highlighted among 25 peers.Read the chart values
Paintsville, KY (this city): home $110,800, crime 146/100k
Shenandoah, PA : home $43,500, crime 1,577/100k
Ludlow, KY : home $154,700, crime 1,183/100k
Scottsville, KY : home $140,600, crime 823/100k
Greenville, KY : home $118,500, crime 415/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Paintsville compare to other US cities?
Here's how Paintsville stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income2% higher than other cities
Home value13% pricier than other cities
Median rent10% pricier than other cities
Safety97% 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, Paintsville ranks #18 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 Paintsville 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 Paintsville near the bottom of Kentucky's cities
Among the 520 Kentucky cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Paintsville ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Paintsville only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#466 of 485
4th percentile in Kentucky
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 520
0th percentile in Kentucky
Median Home Value
#345 of 484
29th percentile in Kentucky
Poverty Rate
#37 of 519
93rd percentile in Kentucky
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#271 of 520
47th 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
2nd percentile nationally for median household income · 97th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Paintsville's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Paintsville'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 Paintsville's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$110,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 87% 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
Paintsville's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,107 of 15,516
More affordable than 28% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#8,628 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.1×, Paintsville sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,107 of 15,516 and #8,628 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$26,713Paintsville, KY median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Paintsville, 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 Paintsville, KY.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)17.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)34.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)44.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
4,256
Median Income
$26,713
Median Home Value
$110,800
Median Age
41.9
Poverty Rate
34.1%
Labor force participation
44.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
17.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
145.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
145.9
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
55.3°F
Annual Precipitation
46.2"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Paintsville's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
4,308 residents
2021
4,268 residents
2022
4,173 residents
2023
4,141 residents
2024
4,139 residents
2025
4,111 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.7%
Carpool
3.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.1%
Work from Home
15.4%
Based on 1,412 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 Paintsville. 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 Paintsville 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 Paintsville sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Paintsville 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.