Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,114, settled in 1851.
The best of Beattyville’s subject grades is an A+ for safety; the weakest is a D− for incomes. 42% of residents live below the poverty line in Beattyville, above both the Kentucky town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On incomes, just 1 of Kentucky’s 236 towns do worse. Residents are less healthy than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Beattyville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 95% of U.S. towns. Beattyville has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them St. Thomas Episcopal Church and Beattyville Grade School. Beattyville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Beattyville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Beattyville | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 12.4% | 5.4% |
1,307 counted in 2010 and 2,176 in 2020; an estimated 2,114 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Beattyville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 123 in 1870, a low of 123 in 1870, 2,176 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1930 and 2 maps from 1952 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Beattyville, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Beattyville.
33% of Beattyville adults say their health is fair or poor, against 23% in Kentucky’s towns and 19% across U.S. towns. 20% of Beattyville adults report frequent physical distress. Only 7 of the 142 Kentucky towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Beattyville.
| Beattyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 23% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 18% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 40% | 36% |
| What stands out | Beattyville | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.8% | 8.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 12.4% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Lee County school district. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lee County Middle High School, with 422 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee County Middle High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 422 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
No town among the 116 in Kentucky we compare has a lower property crime rate than Beattyville. Beattyville’s violent crime rate is 0 per 1,000 residents.
| Beattyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The median household income in Beattyville is $23,000. Since 2013, Beattyville has added 159 jobs, to 1,209 in 2023. 26% of working residents work locally in Beattyville.
| Beattyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $23,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 15% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Beattyville home is worth about $128,000, down 10.7% in a year, 44% below the Kentucky typical home. No town among the 140 in Kentucky we compare has a lower median rent than Beattyville.
| Beattyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 38% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $433 a month | $934 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 18 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Beattyville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Beattyville has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 26° and about 18 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.3 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Happy Top, at 28 acres.
| Beattyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Happy Top | — | 28 |
| 2. Beattyville Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Beattyville
About 2 of every 100 Beattyville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
Where Beattyville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Beattyville on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Kentucky, United States
Beattyville is a home rule class city in, and the county seat of, Lee County, Kentucky, United States. The city was formally established by the state assembly as "Beatty" in 1851 and incorporated in 1872. It was named for Samuel Beatty, a pioneer settler. As of the 2020 census, Beattyville had a population of 2,176.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($37,568 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
