BucknerKY
A town of 4,119, settled in 1880. Public schools that outperform most of Kentucky.
Is Buckner a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Buckner grades A− overall, ranked 30th of 138 in Kentucky. The median household earns $164K. Its schools outperform 97% of the state's. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $451K, 6.1 years of the Louisville/Jefferson County metro’s $74K median household income. Buckner’s median household income is $164,000, where Kentucky’s towns sit at $59,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. Only 10 of Kentucky’s 238 towns score higher on hazard risk. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 85% of U.S. towns.
What makes Buckner stand out
Where Buckner beats most towns.
Every workday, about 3,533 people come to Buckner for work
Where Buckner’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Buckner grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Buckner is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for walkability (better than 15%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Sons of the American Revolution and 27 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Buckner. Close and well known come first.
21 mi Theme parkKentucky Kingdom
18 mi Stadium & arenaLynn Family Stadium
19 mi Stadium & arenaKFC Yum! Center
21 mi Stadium & arenaL&N Federal Credit Union Stadium
19 mi MuseumMuhammad Ali CenterPhoto credits
Kentucky Kingdom: Stevietheman at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lynn Family Stadium: Bpluke01, CC BY-SA 4.0 · KFC Yum! Center: Jamesmac96, CC BY 3.0 · L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium: Perthsider, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Muhammad Ali Center: The original uploader was Stevietheman at English Wikipedia., CC BY 2.0
Moving to Buckner: who provides what
Buckner is unincorporated, so Oldham County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Buckner.
Buckner has schools in the top 5% of Kentucky and draws workers from Louisville and beyond, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Kentucky.
In Buckner, the median rent runs higher than in the typical Kentucky or U.S. town
At 6.1 years of the Louisville/Jefferson County metro’s $74K median household income, the typical home (about $451K) costs more against local pay than in 96% of Kentucky towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $3,816, against $1,544 across Kentucky, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Buckner’s median rent is $1,762 a month. Among 142 Kentucky towns, just 6 have a higher share of households owning their home than Buckner. The typical Buckner home is worth about $451,000, up 2.5% in a year, 95% above the Kentucky typical home.
| Buckner | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,762 a month | $930 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Buckner earns an A+ for schools
Its A+ ranks #4 of the 139 Kentucky towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Oldham County school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Oldham County High School, with 1,547 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oldham County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 768 | A− |
| Oldham County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,547 | B+ |
| Buckner Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 620 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Buckner stands out in Kentucky and nationally: a smaller share of its residents live below the poverty line
3,751 jobs are based in Buckner, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 1,983 in 2013 to 3,751.
0.1% of Buckner residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Buckner grew to 3,751 in 2023, 1,768 more than in 2013. Most working residents leave Buckner for work: only 10% work in town.
| Buckner | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 0.1% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.5% | 15% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0% of Buckner is conserved land
5.5 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Wendell Moore Park, at 110 acres. The trail density in Buckner is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wendell Moore Park | 0.7 mi | 110 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Buckner
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
On CDC estimates, Buckner is healthier than 70% of U.S. towns
Its widest gap with Kentucky is tooth loss: 11.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 18.9% statewide. Against the 1,932 U.S. towns with household incomes like Buckner’s, it is less healthy than 93%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Buckner beats the Kentucky average on 18 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 12% of adults report frequent physical distress in Buckner. Among 141 Kentucky towns, just 5 have a higher share of adults who binge drink than Buckner.
| Buckner | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 27% | 25% |
| What stands out | Buckner | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.8% | 18.9% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 6.4% | 10.2% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.1% | 14.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Buckner
January nights average 24°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 83% of Kentucky places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.6°.
Buckner has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. About 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Buckner | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 87°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 25°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Buckner
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Buckner
About 6 of every 100 Buckner residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
About Buckner
CDP in Kentucky, United States
Buckner is a census-designated place (CDP) in Oldham County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,837 at the 2020 census. Oldham County High School is located in Buckner. The town and the school were hit by an EF2 tornado on April 2, 2024.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 7.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 823 ft
- ZIP code
- 40010
Questions about Buckner
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Buckner, KY a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Buckner grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #30 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades B+ for health and A+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Buckner, KY expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.