Winchester, Kentucky

Area Profile

19,213 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Winchester, in Clark 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 47% of 4,199 cities measured57
SchoolsTop 32% of 4,162 cities measured63
GrowthTop 25% of 4,224 cities measured62
Housing affordabilityTop 40% of 4,218 cities measured70
ClimateTop 30% of 4,225 cities measured74
Physical resilienceTop 34% of 4,226 cities measured71
Access4,063rd of 4,226 cities measured52
Economic stability3,802nd of 4,226 cities measured31
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.6% and median household income $54,378, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Clark County, KY, which contains Winchester, rather than for Winchester alone.

In the public schools here, 49% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.3 students for every teacher.

166 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Clark County, KY, which contains Winchester, rather than for Winchester 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
19,213
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$54,378
Bottom 30% nationally
Density
2,082/sq mi
9.2 sq mi of land
Median age
40.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Kentucky
Nearest major airport
CVG
77 mi · Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Intl
Median home value
$188,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Clark County, KY, which contains Winchester, is 4.6% — higher than in all but 40% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Clark County, KY, which contains Winchester, grew 1.4% over the past year, to 17,414 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsClark County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,49810th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftClark County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$53,89013th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,7102024 ACS 5-Year$54,378Bottom 30%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,8302024 ACS 5-Year$32,859Bottom 47%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year17.9%Bottom 27%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.2 minTop 36%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year22.4%Top 45%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%41st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentClark County, KY’s figureJuly 202617,414Bottom 18%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Clark County, KY’s figureJuly 2026+4.0%Top 9%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Clark County, KY’s figureJuly 2026+1.4%Top 12%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceClark County, KY’s figureJuly 202618,25019th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year72.0%Bottom 31%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageLexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$62,210Bottom 23%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageLexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,620Bottom 27%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Clark County, KY’s figureJuly 2026−0.3%Top 36%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateClark County, KY’s figureJuly 20264.6%Bottom 40%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year13.5%72nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202458k47k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $54,378 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 — Lexington-Fayette, KY

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators8,650$59,730
General and Operations Managers8,100$80,440
Registered Nurses8,070$79,040
Retail Salespersons7,810$30,100
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,500$27,990
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand5,500$41,910

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 Clark County, KY, which contains this city.

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 56% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.3 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.3
across 8 of them
Math proficiency
49.2%
Top 31% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
55.9%
Top 40% in Kentucky
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
George Rogers Clark High SchoolClark County1,57818.139%50%
Rev. Henry E. Baker Sr. Interm. SchoolClark County76716.766%65%
Robert D. Campbell Jr. HighClark County75314.850%62%
Strode Station Elementary SchoolClark County54213.261%59%
William G. Conkwright ElementaryClark County49911.950%55%
Willis H. Justice Elementary SchoolClark County48113.442%52%
Shearer Elementary SchoolClark County41314.847%52%
Clark County PreschoolClark County28818.0——
Phoenix AcademyClark County191.7——
Clark County Area Technology CenterKentucky Tech System0———

61.7% 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 92.5, 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 Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area is up 53% over five years, and up 6.1% 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 $1,362 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.72% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,272, some 39% above the $916 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,272 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $50,900 a year, about 94% of the median household income here of $54,378.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $916 a month.

A median home at $188,300 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $73,166, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
92.5

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 Lexington-Fayette, 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
31.4%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,272
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$916
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$188,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Winchester’s median household income of $54,378, 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 Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area’s figure202392.5Top 15%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.1%88th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+52.5%86th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+103.3%68th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 47%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year60.5%21st percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2462024 ACS 5-Year9,53894th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,079Top 28%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,743Top 32%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,272Top 26%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$352024 ACS 5-Year$916Top 44%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,9172024 ACS 5-Year$188,30050th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$562024 ACS 5-Year$1,36237th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$9,8342024 ACS 5-Year$73,166Bottom 42%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.72%31st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year31.4%Bottom 34%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±202024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.3%65th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2562024 ACS 5-Year98795th 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

62/ 100
Top 25% 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 1% since 2020, reaching 19,413 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Clark County, which contains Winchester, 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 $51,498, close to the $53,890 of households that moved out.

At 4.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Clark County, KY, which contains Winchester, rather than for Winchester alone.

Units permitted
166
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.5
Top 32% nationally
Year over year
+4%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
41.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202419k19k
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 3 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
19%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,498
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$53,890
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Fayette County, KY 519 people · 28% of arrivals
  2. Montgomery County, KY 154 people · 8.2% of arrivals
  3. Madison County, KY 146 people · 7.8% of arrivals
  4. Powell County, KY 62 people · 3.3% of arrivals
  5. Bourbon County, KY 61 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fayette County, KY 334 people · 20% of departures
  2. Madison County, KY 238 people · 14% of departures
  3. Montgomery County, KY 151 people · 9.1% of departures
  4. Powell County, KY 76 people · 4.6% of departures
  5. Scott County, KY 52 people · 3.1% 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 Clark 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 Winchester, KY is not one. This is the figure for Clark 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 87°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 49.8 inches, including 14.5 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 LEXINGTON BLUEGRASS AP, 22.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals49.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals14.5"1991-2020 Normals
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

71 / 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 51% of it.

Strong windModerate
TornadoModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, ice storm, hail, cold wave, heat wave, landslide, hurricane, drought, 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. 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
175
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,249
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.

Winchester's police department reported 175 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,249.

Clark County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.9 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 17.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 37.5 per 100,000 residents in Clark County.

Homicide
4.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
17.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
37.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.8
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 Winchester’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 Winchester (Clark County) rather than Winchester 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 Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Intl at 77 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year91.5%Top 42%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle77 miBottom 4%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-Year6.4%Top 44%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky IntlCVG77 mi10,000 ft
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF85 mi11,887 ft
Wilmington Air ParkILN101 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.

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
64
Your Score
—

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

Other cities in Lexington-Fayette, KY

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Lexington-Fayette urban countyFayette County323,72569Lexington-Fayette urban county vs Winchester
GeorgetownScott County39,11771Georgetown vs Winchester
NicholasvilleJessamine County32,19766Nicholasville vs Winchester
VersaillesWoodford County10,49267
ParisBourbon County10,16056

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 Winchester side by side with a similar place.

Winchester vs SedaliaWinchester vs Dalton

Moving to Winchester 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 Winchester

1 ZIP area

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

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4039136,796$64,144$204,90063