42701 — Elizabethtown, Kentucky

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 42701. Its median household income runs 15% above Elizabethtown as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 31% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity1,926th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured48
SchoolsTop 37% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured60
GrowthTop 41% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured55
Housing affordabilityTop 9% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured83
ClimateTop 38% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Physical resilienceTop 37% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured68
Access2,310th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured82
Economic stability2,039th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured45
The quick read

Unemployment is 6.0% and median household income $69,619, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Elizabethtown, KY, which contains 42701, rather than for 42701 alone.

In the public schools here, 48% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.9 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 164 units authorized over the past twelve months, 74% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Elizabethtown, KY, which contains 42701, rather than for 42701 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
53,987
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$69,619
Bottom 46% nationally
Density
333/sq mi
162.1 sq mi of land
Median age
38.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Elizabethtown
Kentucky
Nearest major airport
SDF
33 mi · Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl
Median home value
$260,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Elizabethtown, KY, which contains 42701, is 6.0% — higher than in all but 8% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Elizabethtown, KY, which contains 42701, 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$53,63917th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHardin County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$55,52920th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,1332024 ACS 5-Year$69,619Bottom 46%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,8252024 ACS 5-Year$41,340Top 35%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.3%Bottom 36%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.7 minTop 23%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.0%Top 38%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year76.7%53rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentElizabethtown, KY’s figureJuly 202615,402Bottom 11%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Elizabethtown, KY’s figureJuly 2026+8.0%Top 1%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Elizabethtown, KY’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Top 37%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceElizabethtown, KY’s figureJuly 202616,37912th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year77.3%Bottom 46%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageElizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$56,110Bottom 10%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageElizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$46,810Bottom 23%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%69th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Elizabethtown, KY’s figureJuly 2026+1.0%Bottom 4%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateElizabethtown, KY’s figureJuly 20266.0%Bottom 8%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.7%50th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202470k63k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $69,619 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.

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

48% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 57% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.9 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.9
across 13 of them
Math proficiency
47.9%
Top 45% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
57.2%
Top 33% in Kentucky
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
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%
Helmwood Heights Elementary SchoolElizabethtown Independent46114.443%53%
Morningside Elementary SchoolElizabethtown Independent45513.453%62%
Panther AcademyElizabethtown Independent22214.8——

48.4% 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 $1,666 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.64% 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 13% above the $934 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 61% of the median household income here of $69,619.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $934 a month.

A median home at $260,300 costs 2.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $92,161, 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
25.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,056
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$934
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$260,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 42701’s median household income of $69,619, 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 7%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Elizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.0%21st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Elizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+45.7%62nd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Elizabethtown, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+91.7%45th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.8Bottom 46%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year61.6%17th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5062024 ACS 5-Year23,50798th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$846Top 13%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,469Top 21%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,056Top 14%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$422024 ACS 5-Year$934Top 42%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,4522024 ACS 5-Year$260,30060th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$922024 ACS 5-Year$1,66641st percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,1902024 ACS 5-Year$92,161Top 38%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.64%26th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.6%Top 35%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±862024 ACS 5-Year8673rd percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%38th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%42nd percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3832024 ACS 5-Year1,42293rd 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

55/ 100
Top 41% 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 164 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Elizabethtown, KY, which contains 42701, rather than for 42701 alone.

At 5.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Elizabethtown, KY, which contains 42701, rather than for 42701 alone.

Units permitted
164
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.0
Top 32% nationally
Year over year
−74%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

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.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Elizabethtown, 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 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, 2.6 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

68 / 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. 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
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.

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 42701 (Hardin County) rather than 42701 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. Elizabethtown 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 33 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year89.9%Top 48%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle33 miBottom 27%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 21%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%Top 45%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF33 mi11,887 ft
Owensboro/Daviess County RgnlOWB73 mi8,000 ft
Evansville RgnlEVV95 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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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 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.

42701 vs Elizabethtown

How this ZIP area compares with Elizabethtown 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.

42701
Elizabethtown
Median household income: 42701 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$69,619
vs
$60,760
Per capita income: 42701 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$41,340
vs
$35,019
Population density
333/sq mi
vs
1,163/sq mi
Median home value
$260,300
vs
$245,900
Median gross rent: Elizabethtown is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$934
vs
$909
Homeownership rate
61.6%
vs
49.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Elizabethtown is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
28.0%
vs
28.3%
Poverty rate: 42701 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
13.3%
vs
16.6%
Median age
38.1
vs
35.7

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.