Elizabethtown, Kentucky

Area Profile

32,576 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Elizabethtown, in Hardin County.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 34% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity2,839th of 4,199 cities measured48
SchoolsTop 38% of 4,162 cities measured59
GrowthTop 37% of 4,224 cities measured56
Housing affordabilityTop 7% of 4,218 cities measured84
ClimateTop 35% of 4,225 cities measured74
Physical resilienceTop 38% of 4,226 cities measured69
Access3,224th of 4,226 cities measured82
Economic stability3,294th of 4,226 cities measured41
The quick read

Unemployment is 6.0% and median household income $60,760, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 47% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.5 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 164 units authorized over the past twelve months, 74% below the prior year.

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
32,576
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,760
Bottom 40% nationally
Density
1,163/sq mi
28 sq mi of land
Median age
35.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Kentucky
Nearest major airport
SDF
33 mi · Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl
Median home value
$245,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.0% — higher than in all but 7% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.1% over the past year, to 15,402 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHardin County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$53,63913th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHardin County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$55,52916th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,7932024 ACS 5-Year$60,760Bottom 40%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,0422024 ACS 5-Year$35,019Top 46%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.6%Bottom 30%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.9 minTop 25%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year28.3%Top 33%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.1%53rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202615,402Bottom 14%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+8.0%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Top 36%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202616,37915th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.9%Bottom 45%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageElizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$56,110Bottom 6%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageElizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$46,810Bottom 15%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+1.0%Bottom 3%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20266.0%Bottom 7%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.5%44th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.03.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 6.0% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202461k52k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $60,760 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 — Elizabethtown, KY

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators2,140$50,510
Retail Salespersons1,570$28,650
General and Operations Managers1,420$76,770
Cashiers1,340$28,270
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,330$27,260
Human Resources Specialists1,060$78,850

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.

47% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 56% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.5 students for every full-time teacher across 17 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
20
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.5
across 17 of them
Math proficiency
47.2%
Top 42% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
56.3%
Top 36% in Kentucky
The 12 largest of 20 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Central Hardin High SchoolHardin County1,83119.540%48%
John Hardin High SchoolHardin County86816.137%48%
East Hardin Middle SchoolHardin County77518.055%70%
Elizabethtown High SchoolElizabethtown Independent75717.252%62%
Lincoln Trail Elementary SchoolHardin County65315.964%64%
G C Burkhead Elementary SchoolHardin County63413.851%57%
Bluegrass Middle SchoolHardin County58315.336%46%
Heartland Elementary SchoolHardin County56414.151%61%
Talton K Stone Middle SchoolElizabethtown Independent52617.055%67%
New Highland Elementary SchoolHardin County50515.345%52%
Cecilia Valley Elementary SchoolHardin County49014.462%67%
West Hardin Middle SchoolHardin County47615.441%60%

47.5% 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 11% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 88.9, 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 Elizabethtown, KY Metro Area is up 46% over five years, and up 1.0% 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 $1,740 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.71% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,056, some 16% above the $909 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,056 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $42,200 a year, about 69% of the median household income here of $60,760.

The typical renter household here spends 25% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $909 a month.

A median home at $245,900 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $85,444, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
88.9

Prices here run about 11% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Elizabethtown, KY 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
25.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,056
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$909
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$245,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Elizabethtown’s median household income of $60,760, 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 Elizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure202388.9Top 4%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Elizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.0%20th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Elizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+45.7%65th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Elizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+91.7%48th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.9Bottom 38%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year49.3%9th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4312024 ACS 5-Year14,78896th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$846Top 10%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,469Top 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,056Top 11%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$422024 ACS 5-Year$909Top 43%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$18,2852024 ACS 5-Year$245,90064th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1512024 ACS 5-Year$1,74049th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$10,8782024 ACS 5-Year$85,444Top 42%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.71%30th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.0%Top 33%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±862024 ACS 5-Year8187th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%57th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.9%50th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3232024 ACS 5-Year1,10495th percentileof 32,3302024 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

56/ 100
Top 37% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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.

Population has grown 10% since 2020, reaching 34,565 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 164 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Hardin County, which contains Elizabethtown, lost about 0.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $53,639, close to the $55,529 of households that moved out.

At 5.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
164
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.0
Top 29% nationally
Year over year
−74%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202435k31k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
56%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$53,639
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$55,529
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Jefferson County, KY 819 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Meade County, KY 444 people · 6.6% of arrivals
  3. Bullitt County, KY 285 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  4. Larue County, KY 262 people · 3.9% of arrivals
  5. Grayson County, KY 135 people · 2.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Jefferson County, KY 751 people · 11% of departures
  2. Meade County, KY 545 people · 7.8% of departures
  3. Larue County, KY 345 people · 5.0% of departures
  4. Bullitt County, KY 200 people · 2.9% of departures
  5. Grayson County, KY 189 people · 2.7% 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 Hardin County, KY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251k105
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−60%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 24°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 54.4 inches, including 4.5 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ELIZABETHTOWN WP CS, 1.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals54.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals4.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals24°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

69 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 44% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Ice stormModerate
HailElevated
EarthquakeElevated
TornadoModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, lightning, winter weather, cold wave, inland flooding, heat wave, hurricane, landslide, wildfire, drought, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
110
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
650
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Elizabethtown's police department reported 110 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 650.

Hardin County has a modeled homicide rate of about 5.5 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 25.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.9 per 100,000 residents in Hardin County.

Homicide
5.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
25.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
28.5
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Elizabethtown’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 Elizabethtown (Hardin County) rather than Elizabethtown itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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 33 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year87.7%Bottom 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle33 miBottom 24%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%Bottom 46%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF33 mi11,887 ft
Owensboro/Daviess County RgnlOWB70 mi8,000 ft
Evansville RgnlEVV93 mi8,021 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.

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Area Score
63
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Other cities in Elizabethtown, KY

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
RadcliffHardin County22,86456Radcliff vs Elizabethtown

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Elizabethtown side by side with a similar place.

Elizabethtown vs HickoryElizabethtown vs Bellefontaine

Moving to Elizabethtown from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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 October 8, 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.

ZIP codes in Elizabethtown

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Elizabethtown with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4270153,987$69,619$260,30063
427245,345$73,465$197,40061