Richmond, Kentucky

Area Profile

37,111 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Richmond, in Madison County.

62out of 100
Area Score
Top 38% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity2,597th of 4,199 cities measured51
Schools2,404th of 4,162 cities measured44
GrowthTop 18% of 4,224 cities measured67
Housing affordabilityTop 20% of 4,218 cities measured77
ClimateTop 32% of 4,225 cities measured74
Physical resilienceTop 29% of 4,226 cities measured77
Access4,102nd of 4,226 cities measured47
Economic stability3,249th of 4,226 cities measured41
The quick read

Unemployment is 6.1% and median household income $50,870, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 42% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.4 students for every teacher.

235 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 7% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
37,111
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$50,870
Bottom 24% nationally
Density
1,690/sq mi
22 sq mi of land
Median age
28.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Kentucky
Nearest major airport
SDF
84 mi · Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl
Median home value
$214,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.1% — higher than in all but 7% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 1.4% over the past year, to 19,334 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 76% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $50,870 is lower than in 76% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMadison County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,3519th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMadison County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$50,4417th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,6922024 ACS 5-Year$50,870Bottom 24%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3772024 ACS 5-Year$29,276Bottom 34%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.9%Bottom 32%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.4 minTop 43%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year34.9%Top 24%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year76.1%46th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202619,334Bottom 22%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+8.2%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.4%Top 12%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202620,58823rd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.1%Top 47%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Bottom 33%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20266.1%Bottom 7%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%53rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.13.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 6.1% 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

202120222023202451k40k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $50,870 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.

42% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.4 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.4
across 11 of them
Math proficiency
42.2%
Bottom 33% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
55.4%
Top 42% in Kentucky
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Madison Central High SchoolMadison County2,10718.833%48%
Kirksville Elementary SchoolMadison County66215.851%51%
Madison Middle SchoolMadison County58617.840%58%
Clark Moores Middle SchoolMadison County55816.942%63%
B. Michael Caudill Middle SchoolMadison County51716.762%75%
Glenn R Marshall Elementary SchoolMadison County48015.049%51%
Daniel Boone Elementary SchoolMadison County46913.836%48%
Kit Carson Elementary SchoolMadison County44515.334%64%
Boonesborough ElementaryMadison County40614.547%57%
Madison Kindergarten AcademyMadison County40316.1——
White Hall Elementary SchoolMadison County36413.559%65%
Ignite Academy NorthMadison County0———

54.6% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky is up 51% over five years, and up 5.6% 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 $1,713 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.80% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $904, close to the $917 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $904 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $36,200 a year, about 71% of the median household income here of $50,870.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $917 a month.

A median home at $214,900 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $87,855, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
28.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$904
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$917
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$214,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Richmond’s median household income of $50,870, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+5.6%83rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+50.5%81st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+91.9%49th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 49%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year38.3%4th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4372024 ACS 5-Year16,73897th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$785Top 7%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,257Top 5%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$904Top 2%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$272024 ACS 5-Year$917Top 44%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,1542024 ACS 5-Year$214,90057th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1352024 ACS 5-Year$1,71348th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,6812024 ACS 5-Year$87,855Top 39%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.80%37th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year28.1%Top 49%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±372024 ACS 5-Year2172nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%60th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3322024 ACS 5-Year1,53697th 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.

Development Momentum

67/ 100
Top 18% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in 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 12% since 2020, reaching 39,581 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 276 units authorized in 2025, 11% below the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 39,581 residents in 2024, up 2.8% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

64% of the 235 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Madison County, which contains Richmond, gained about 1.8% 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 $51,351, close to the $50,441 of households that moved out.

At 6.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
235
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.3
Top 21% nationally
Year over year
−7%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
64.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202440k35k
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 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
32%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,351
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$50,441
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Fayette County, KY 1,110 people · 20% of arrivals
  2. Clark County, KY 238 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  3. Rockcastle County, KY 176 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  4. Estill County, KY 159 people · 2.9% of arrivals
  5. Laurel County, KY 152 people · 2.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fayette County, KY 694 people · 16% of departures
  2. Rockcastle County, KY 235 people · 5.6% of departures
  3. Garrard County, KY 174 people · 4.1% of departures
  4. Estill County, KY 149 people · 3.5% of departures
  5. Clark County, KY 146 people · 3.5% 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 Madison County, KY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025632257
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+7%).

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 25°F.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIV, 2.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

MetricValueSource period
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°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

77 / 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 50% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.

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

HailModerate
EarthquakeModerate

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

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
243
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,630
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.

Richmond's police department reported 243 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,630.

Madison County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.4 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 about 12.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 34.1 per 100,000 residents in Madison County.

Homicide
3.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
34.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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 Richmond’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 Richmond (Madison County) rather than Richmond 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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl at 84 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year88.3%Bottom 44%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle84 miBottom 3%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%Top 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF84 mi11,887 ft
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky IntlCVG93 mi10,000 ft
Wilmington Air ParkILN121 mi10,701 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
62
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Other cities in Richmond-Berea, KY

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BereaMadison County15,78664Berea vs Richmond

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 Richmond side by side with a similar place.

Richmond vs SedaliaRichmond vs Cleveland

Moving to Richmond 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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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.

ZIP codes in Richmond

1 ZIP area

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

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4047565,961$63,050$244,30062