Shelbyville, Kentucky

Area Profile

17,668 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Shelbyville, in Shelby County.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 33% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 46% of 4,199 cities measured58
Schools3,839th of 4,162 cities measured16
GrowthTop 14% of 4,224 cities measured71
Housing affordabilityTop 14% of 4,218 cities measured80
ClimateTop 31% of 4,225 cities measured74
Physical resilienceTop 25% of 4,226 cities measured79
Access3,145th of 4,226 cities measured83
Economic stability2,860th of 4,226 cities measured48
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.5% and median household income $75,610, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Shelby County, KY, which contains Shelbyville, rather than for Shelbyville alone.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.9 students for every teacher.

274 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 10% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Shelby County, KY, which contains Shelbyville, rather than for Shelbyville 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
17,668
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$75,610
Top 38% nationally
Density
1,770/sq mi
10 sq mi of land
Median age
34.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Kentucky
Nearest major airport
SDF
28 mi · Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl
Median home value
$257,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Shelby County, KY, which contains Shelbyville, is 4.5% — higher than in all but 43% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Shelby County, KY, which contains Shelbyville, fell 0.2% over the past year, to 24,588 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsShelby County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$78,77660th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftShelby County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$61,20625th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,0422024 ACS 5-Year$75,610Top 38%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,1632024 ACS 5-Year$33,587Bottom 49%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year14.2%Bottom 37%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.1 minBottom 43%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year26.7%Top 36%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year76.0%46th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentShelby County, KY’s figureJuly 202624,588Bottom 30%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Shelby County, KY’s figureJuly 2026+1.2%Top 28%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Shelby County, KY’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceShelby County, KY’s figureJuly 202625,73929th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year76.9%Bottom 45%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageLouisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$62,310Bottom 23%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageLouisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,370Bottom 24%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Shelby County, KY’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateShelby County, KY’s figureJuly 20264.5%Bottom 43%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year10.9%64th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202476k71k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $75,610 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 publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Shelby County, KY, which contains this city.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 44% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.9 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
16.9
across 11 of them
Math proficiency
31.0%
Bottom 9% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
44.2%
Bottom 13% in Kentucky
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Martha Layne Collins High SchoolShelby County1,15718.728%43%
Shelby County High SchoolShelby County1,00319.325%42%
Marnel C. Moorman SchoolShelby County80316.7——
Shelby County West Middle SchoolShelby County56316.135%53%
Shelby County East Middle SchoolShelby County50516.836%53%
Wright ElementaryShelby County48915.835%39%
Painted Stone ElementaryShelby County45813.943%44%
Clear Creek ElementaryShelby County42514.235%48%
Southside ElementaryShelby County41216.520%32%
Northside Early Childhood CenterShelby County22832.6——
Ascension AcademyShelby County325.3——
Shelby County Area Technology CenterKentucky Tech System0———

45.8% 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 $2,455 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.95% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,150, some 11% above the $1,033 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,150 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $46,000 a year, about 61% of the median household income here of $75,610.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,033 a month.

A median home at $257,100 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $97,345, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

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
26.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,150
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,033
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$257,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Shelbyville’s median household income of $75,610, 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 19%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.8%63rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+40.2%42nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+87.2%40th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 45%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year56.1%15th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3042024 ACS 5-Year6,99391st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,030Top 25%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,430Top 14%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,150Top 17%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$602024 ACS 5-Year$1,033Bottom 45%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$17,7772024 ACS 5-Year$257,10066th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1282024 ACS 5-Year$2,45564th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$10,2662024 ACS 5-Year$97,345Top 30%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.95%49th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year26.9%Top 42%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±752024 ACS 5-Year6285th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%61st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.7%31st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1642024 ACS 5-Year32185th 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

71/ 100
Top 14% of 4,224 published city 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.

Population has grown 4% since 2020, reaching 18,048 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 18,048 residents in 2024, up 1.2% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 274 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Shelby County, KY, which contains Shelbyville, rather than for Shelbyville alone.

Federal tax returns show Shelby County, which contains Shelbyville, gained about 0.7% 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 $78,776, above the $61,206 of households that moved out.

At 5.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Shelby County, KY, which contains Shelbyville, rather than for Shelbyville alone.

Units permitted
274
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.6
Top 25% nationally
Year over year
+10%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202418k17k
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
+0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
23%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$78,776
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$61,206
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Jefferson County, KY 1,038 people · 40% of arrivals
  2. Spencer County, KY 145 people · 5.6% of arrivals
  3. Oldham County, KY 136 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  4. Henry County, KY 135 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  5. Franklin County, KY 106 people · 4.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Jefferson County, KY 648 people · 28% of departures
  2. Henry County, KY 187 people · 8.1% of departures
  3. Spencer County, KY 144 people · 6.2% of departures
  4. Franklin County, KY 135 people · 5.8% of departures
  5. Oldham County, KY 87 people · 3.8% 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 Shelby County, KY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Shelbyville, KY is not one. This is the figure for Shelby County, KY, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.3 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station FRANKFORT CAPITAL CITY AP, 17.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals47.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°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

79 / 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 42% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 75% of measured US cities.

Strong windModerate
TornadoModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Cold waveModerate

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

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
55
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
768
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.

Shelbyville's police department reported 55 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 768.

Shelby County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.3 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 13.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 17.8 per 100,000 residents in Shelby County.

Homicide
4.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
17.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
14.1
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 Shelbyville’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 Shelbyville (Shelby County) rather than Shelbyville 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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl at 28 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year94.8%Top 26%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle28 miBottom 31%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.4%Top 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF28 mi11,887 ft
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky IntlCVG66 mi10,000 ft
Owensboro/Daviess County RgnlOWB110 mi8,000 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.

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Area Score
64
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Other cities in Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Louisville/Jefferson CountyJefferson County631,81856Louisville/Jefferson County vs Shelbyville
JeffersonvilleClark County51,04369Jeffersonville vs Shelbyville
New AlbanyFloyd County37,58159New Albany vs Shelbyville
JeffersontownJefferson County29,19956
ClarksvilleClark County22,01663
Mount WashingtonBullitt County18,48067
St. MatthewsJefferson County17,57762
ShivelyJefferson County15,63853
ShepherdsvilleBullitt County14,53355
BardstownNelson County13,80461
LyndonJefferson County11,03057
La GrangeOldham County10,31168

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 Shelbyville side by side with a similar place.

Shelbyville vs ErlangerShelbyville vs East Point

Moving to Shelbyville 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 Shelbyville

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Shelbyville with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Shelbyville closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4006532,160$77,869$280,500—