Elizabethtown, KY

Metro Area Profile

127,049 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Elizabethtown, KY metropolitan area.

61out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity347th of 379 metros measured31
GrowthTop 47% of 821 metros measured52
Housing affordabilityTop 40% of 822 metros measured97
ClimateTop 25% of 822 metros measured74
Physical resilienceTop 37% of 822 metros measured65
AccessTop 44% of 822 metros measured80
Economic stabilityTop 36% of 822 metros measured62
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 6.2% and the Opportunity signal places Elizabethtown in the bottom 8%.

Residential permitting has slowed: 549 units authorized over the past twelve months, 46% below the prior year.

Rent takes 17% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.2 times that income.

At a glance

Population
127,049
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$67,534
Top 47% nationally
Density
144/sq mi
884.9 sq mi of land
Median age
37.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Elizabethtown, KY
Nearest major airport
SDF
37 mi · Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl
Median home value
$218,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.2% is lower than 6% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 2.3% over the past year, to 52,891 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,372$67,534Top 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,004$36,675Top 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate13.6%Top 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.0 minTop 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher23.7%Bottom 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment52,891Bottom 14%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.5%Top 35%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.3%Bottom 14%of 379June 2026
Labor force56,411Bottom 15%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation62.2%Top 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$56,110Bottom 22%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$46,810Bottom 39%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment51,540Bottom 18%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)1.2%Top 2%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate6.2%Top 6%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.23.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 6.2% in June 2026. 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.
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

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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Prices for everything a household buys run about 11% below the national average, on the Bureau of Economic Analysis index. Housing drives most of that difference.

Median rent of $964 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.2 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

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.

Rent as a share of income
17.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$964
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$218,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index88.9Bottom 17%of 3812023
Home price to income3.24Top 50%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate64.6%Bottom 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±11254,681Top 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$25$964Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,651$218,800Top 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.1%Bottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate7.4%Bottom 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
52/ 100
Top 47% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

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 2% since 2020, reaching 127,954 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 5% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 4.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
549
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.3
Top 30% nationally
Year over year
−46%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
5.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024128k126k
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.

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, 2.1 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation54.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall4.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low24°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing43°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

65 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, earthquake and hail.

HailElevated
Ice stormModerate
EarthquakeElevated
TornadoModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 37 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF37 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
61
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023Annually, each December
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.