Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A regional job hub with 2,609 jobs.
Brandenburg gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $292K for a typical one, or 4 years of the Louisville/Jefferson County metro’s $74K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 49th of 138 in Kentucky. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 74% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 77% of Kentucky towns. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Brandenburg, where Kentucky’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On walkability, just 18 of Kentucky’s 237 towns do better. Brandenburg has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Brandenburg Methodist Episcopal Church and Jones-Willis House.
Where Brandenburg beats most towns.
Brandenburg Methodist Episcopal Church
Census counts: 331 in 1830, a low of 218 in 1900, 2,894 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Brandenburg is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brandenburg, 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 Brandenburg.
Brandenburg pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and draws workers from Doe Valley and beyond.
5.1 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The trail density in Brandenburg is 1.2 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Meade-Olin Park, at 60 acres.
| Brandenburg | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Meade-Olin Park | 0.6 mi | 60 |
| 2. Riverfront Park | — | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $292K.
Its public schools are run by the Meade County school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Meade County High School, with 1,512 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barry Hahn Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 807 | A |
| Meade County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,512 | B |
| David T. Wilson ElementaryTop results in townGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 529 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
2,609 jobs are based in Brandenburg, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Brandenburg’s average trip to work is 30 minutes. About one in 5 of Brandenburg’s working residents works in town. Brandenburg’s median household income is $50,000.
| Brandenburg | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 15% | 8% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 5,742 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brandenburg’s, it is less healthy than 58%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
20% of adults smoke cigarettes in Brandenburg. Brandenburg beats the Kentucky average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 28% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Brandenburg.
| Brandenburg | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 40% | 36% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Brandenburg | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.8% | 5.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 18.8% | 15.5% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 10.5% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 42 to 19 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Since 1997, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brandenburg.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Homes are within reach (about $292K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 26 miles.
47% of Brandenburg households own their home. The typical Brandenburg home is worth about $292,000, about the same as a year ago, 27% above the Kentucky typical home.
| Brandenburg | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $748 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 24.5°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 75% of Kentucky places with climate records; July afternoons average 87.3°.
Brandenburg has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain.
| Brandenburg | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 87°F | 85°F |
| January low | 25°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Only 46.7% of households own their home, against 68.3% across Kentucky.
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Kentucky average. Brandenburg has grown 3.7% since 2020, to 3,003 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 20% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Kentucky.
| Brandenburg | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 20% | 26% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.4 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Brandenburg | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.1% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.2% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 18.1% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.1% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.8% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.9% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.7% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.3% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.2% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 12% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.9% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,000, single groups can be off by several points
None within 15 miles of Brandenburg; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Brandenburg residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
Where Brandenburg’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 places in Brandenburg on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Brandenburg.
City in Kentucky, United States
Brandenburg is a home rural-class city on the Ohio River in Meade County, Kentucky, in the United States. The city is 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Louisville. It is the seat of its county. The population was 2,894 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Brandenburg grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #49 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C− for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
4 notable people were born here, including Richard W. Thompson and William Henry Steward.
