40004 — Bardstown, Kentucky

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 40004. Its median household income runs 30% above Bardstown as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

60out of 100
Area Score
Top 44% of 3,116 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity1,763rd of 3,119 ZIP areas measured51
Schools2,548th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured23
GrowthTop 22% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured65
Housing affordability1,581st of 3,115 ZIP areas measured68
ClimateTop 31% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured75
Physical resilienceTop 29% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Access2,199th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured84
Economic stability1,702nd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured52
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.1% and median household income $66,578, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Bardstown, KY, which contains 40004, rather than for 40004 alone.

In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.7 students for every teacher.

235 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 14% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Bardstown, KY, which contains 40004, rather than for 40004 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
30,601
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,578
Bottom 42% nationally
Density
210/sq mi
145.5 sq mi of land
Median age
39.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Bardstown
Kentucky
Nearest major airport
SDF
30 mi · Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl
Median home value
$242,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Bardstown, KY, which contains 40004, is 5.1% — higher than in all but 24% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Bardstown, KY, which contains 40004, grew 0.5% over the past year, to 22,552 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsNelson County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$57,43827th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftNelson County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,56923rd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,3092024 ACS 5-Year$66,578Bottom 42%of 31,1382024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2552024 ACS 5-Year$35,246Bottom 45%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.8%Bottom 42%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.5 minTop 49%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.3%Top 45%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year82.0%73rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentBardstown, KY’s figureJuly 202622,552Bottom 23%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Bardstown, KY’s figureJuly 2026+2.6%Top 17%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Bardstown, KY’s figureJuly 2026+0.5%Top 28%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceBardstown, KY’s figureJuly 202623,75823rd percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.5%Top 49%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageLouisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$62,310Bottom 33%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageLouisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,370Bottom 32%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Bardstown, KY’s figureJuly 20260.0%Bottom 44%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateBardstown, KY’s figureJuly 20265.1%Bottom 24%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%28th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202467k63k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $66,578 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand29,400$46,830
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators20,920$48,440
Registered Nurses18,180$84,850
Retail Salespersons17,540$30,660
General and Operations Managers16,830$89,140
Stockers and Order Fillers16,410$37,610

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Bardstown, KY, the city containing this ZIP code.

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 50% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.7 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.7
across 10 of them
Math proficiency
37.6%
Bottom 17% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
50.0%
Bottom 24% in Kentucky
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Bardstown Elementary SchoolBardstown Independent84715.746%51%
Nelson County High SchoolNelson County75616.438%47%
Bardstown High SchoolBardstown Independent70318.532%42%
Thomas Nelson High SchoolNelson County62919.747%52%
Old Kentucky Home Middle SchoolNelson County59419.231%56%
Bardstown Middle SchoolBardstown Independent59116.936%64%
Foster Heights Elementary SchoolNelson County58813.732%42%
Bardstown Primary SchoolBardstown Independent43415.5——
Bardstown Early Childhood CenterBardstown Independent26326.3——
Nelson County Early Learning CenterNelson County15050.0——
The Academy at HorizonsNelson County384.810%10%
The Up CenterNelson County0———

51.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Kentucky’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 93.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area is up 40% over five years, and up 3.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,868 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.77% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,016, close to the $1,037 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,016 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $40,600 a year, about 61% of the median household income here of $66,578.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,037 a month.

A median home at $242,200 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $76,532, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
93.2

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
31.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,016
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,037
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$242,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 40004’s median household income of $66,578, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure202393.2Top 27%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.8%65th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+40.2%38th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+87.2%36th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 35%of 29,3222024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year73.3%36th percentileof 32,9062024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4072024 ACS 5-Year13,13089th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$781Top 7%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,360Top 13%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,016Top 10%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$612024 ACS 5-Year$1,037Bottom 48%of 26,4752024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,2732024 ACS 5-Year$242,20056th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$862024 ACS 5-Year$1,86847th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,8152024 ACS 5-Year$76,532Bottom 40%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.77%39th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year31.6%Bottom 32%of 26,3322024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±442024 ACS 5-Year3054th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%35th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.4%32nd percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2372024 ACS 5-Year61178th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

65/ 100
Top 22% of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 235 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 14% are in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Bardstown, KY, which contains 40004, rather than for 40004 alone.

At 4.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Bardstown, KY, which contains 40004, rather than for 40004 alone.

Units permitted
235
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.9
Top 33% nationally
Year over year
+14%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
13.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
22%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$57,438
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,569
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Jefferson County, KY 410 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. Bullitt County, KY 298 people · 15% of arrivals
  3. Hardin County, KY 170 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  4. Marion County, KY 106 people · 5.4% of arrivals
  5. Washington County, KY 97 people · 4.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Jefferson County, KY 303 people · 17% of departures
  2. Bullitt County, KY 207 people · 12% of departures
  3. Washington County, KY 140 people · 7.8% of departures
  4. Hardin County, KY 121 people · 6.7% of departures
  5. Marion County, KY 93 people · 5.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Nelson County, KY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Bardstown, KY, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 51.6 inches, including 11.9 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BARDSTOWN 5E, 4.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals51.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals11.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

74 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 54% of it.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 71% of measured US ZIP areas.

Strong windModerate
EarthquakeElevated
TornadoModerate
Cold waveModerate
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, winter weather, ice storm, heat wave, hail, landslide, drought, hurricane, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
3.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
16.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
11.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
21.0
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 40004 (Nelson County) rather than 40004 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Bardstown carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl at 30 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.1%Top 41%of 32,8192024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle30 miBottom 30%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 21%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.8%Top 44%of 32,8192024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF30 mi11,887 ft
Owensboro/Daviess County RgnlOWB93 mi8,000 ft
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky IntlCVG96 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
60
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated September 26, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

40004 vs Bardstown

How this ZIP area compares with Bardstown as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

40004
Bardstown
Median household income: 40004 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$66,578
vs
$51,381
Per capita income: 40004 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$35,246
vs
$31,358
Population density
210/sq mi
vs
1,140/sq mi
Median home value
$242,200
vs
$203,500
Median gross rent: Bardstown is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,037
vs
$977
Homeownership rate
73.3%
vs
61.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Bardstown is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
25.3%
vs
26.7%
Poverty rate: 40004 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
11.8%
vs
15.5%
Median age
39.6
vs
38.1

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.