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Place dossier plate
SheetKY-PIKEVILLE-KY · Pikeville, KY 7,560 pop · income 7th pct · 22 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 Pikeville
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Pikeville on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
LeRoy · lowest
39,205
LeRoy · lowest
39,205 median HH income
24.9% of the leader · rank #1
Nashville · near
39,207
Nashville · near
39,207 median HH income
24.9% of the leader · rank #2
Monarch Mill · near
39,212
Monarch Mill · near
39,212 median HH income
24.9% of the leader · rank #3
Pikeville · this city
39,216
Pikeville · this city
39,216 median HH income
24.9% of the leader · rank #4
Grant · near
39,219
Grant · near
39,219 median HH income
24.9% of the leader · rank #5
Elaine · near
39,226
Elaine · near
39,226 median HH income
24.9% of the leader · rank #6
Southwest Ran… · highest
157,390
Southwest Ran… · highest
157,390 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 Pikeville 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: 7,560.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Pikeville - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Pikeville places in the 7th percentile for household income and the 42nd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
7th
percentile, household income
65th
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: Pikeville, KY
Kentucky's Pikeville is a small town, with 7,560 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Pikeville report a median income of $39,216 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 19.1%. Pikeville's housing stock carries a median value of $301,300, and the median resident age is 36.7 years. Educational attainment runs 41.2% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 43.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 4 residential building permits were authorized in Pikeville (Construction Slowdown), down 43% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Pikeville reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1634.2 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. 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. 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 Pikeville'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 within-city variation to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income to reported crime to population change to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Pikeville, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Within-city variation
What can 22 Census tracts reveal inside Pikeville?
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 22 Census tracts to this city.
Which cities make useful reference points for Pikeville?
Within Kentucky, the closest population matches are Mount Sterling (7,549 residents, $50,843 income); London (7,576 residents, $45,850 income); Union (7,494 residents, $139,013 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Swainsboro, GA (7,561 residents); Kenai, AK (7,562 residents); Macclenny, FL (7,558 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 does the journey to work look like in Pikeville?
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 67.0%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Pikeville?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 7.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 19.1%, 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.
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 Pikeville?
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 1634.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 28% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1443.6
Violent rate
190.7
Total reported rate
1634.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Is Pikeville 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 -460 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -6.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 4 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
-6.0%
2025 estimate
7,270
2020 estimate
7,730
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the education layer cover for Pikeville?
The NCES join finds 11 public schools within the city match. 41.2% 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.
Matched public schools
11
Bachelor's degree+
41.2%
Poverty estimate
19.1%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 19.1% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.2 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Kentucky average
D
City profile score · Pikeville, KY
43/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share B+
41.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime D
191 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
19.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$39,216
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Pikeville profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.2 index
Bachelor's+ share: 76/100 (B+) · 41.2%
Violent crime: 49/100 (D) · 191 /100k
Poverty rate: 15/100 (F) · 19.1%
Household income: 6/100 (F) · $39,216
Where Pikeville sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Pikeville'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 - Pikeville highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Pikeville, KY (this city): home $301,300, crime 1,634/100k
Kenai, AK : home $249,400, crime 1,095/100k
Mount Sterling, KY : home $178,200, crime 1,413/100k
London, KY : home $155,500, crime 2,749/100k
Villa Hills, KY : home $339,800, crime 893/100k
Flatwoods, KY : home $112,200, crime 264/100k
Russellville, KY : home $156,000, crime 1,218/100k
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 Pikeville compare to other US cities?
Here's how Pikeville stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income7% higher than other cities
Home value65% 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.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Kentucky, Pikeville ranks #147 of 181 Kentucky cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Pikeville 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 Pikeville near the bottom of Kentucky's cities
Among the 520 Kentucky cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Pikeville ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Pikeville only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#382 of 485
21st percentile in Kentucky
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 520
0th percentile in Kentucky
Median Home Value
#62 of 484
87th percentile in Kentucky
Poverty Rate
#155 of 519
70th percentile in Kentucky
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#103 of 520
80th 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
7th percentile nationally for median household income · 42nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Pikeville's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Pikeville'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 Pikeville's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$301,30035th percentilemore affordable than 35% 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
Pikeville's home-value-to-income ratio: 7.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,928 of 15,516
More affordable than 4% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,956 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 7.7×, Pikeville sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,928 of 15,516 and #10,956 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$39,216Pikeville, KY median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Pikeville, 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 Pikeville, KY.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)41.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)19.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)43.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
7,560
Median Income
$39,216
Median Home Value
$301,300
Median Age
36.7
Poverty Rate
19.1%
Labor force participation
43.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
41.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1634.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
190.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1443.6
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
Pikeville's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
7,730 residents
2021
7,587 residents
2022
7,382 residents
2023
7,452 residents
2024
7,363 residents
2025
7,270 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
4
housing units authorized
Single-Family
4
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
7
7
0
$2.1M
2020
9
4
5
$1.6M
2021
5
5
0
$2.3M
2022
20
8
12
$4.2M
2023
10
2
8
$1.7M
2024
4
4
0
$1.6M
Permit volume decreased 43% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
67.0%
Carpool
12.4%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
11.7%
Work from Home
7.9%
Other
0.9%
Based on 2,733 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 Pikeville. 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 Pikeville 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 Pikeville sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Pikeville 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.