Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,964, laid out in 1792.
Carrollton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $158K, 2.8 years of the county’s $56K median household income. It grades C− overall, 111th among Kentucky's 138 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its schools rank behind 95% of the state's, and the median household income is $46K, and 23% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 77% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. On history, just 8 of Kentucky’s 238 towns do better. Residents are less healthy than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Of the 142 Kentucky towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Carrollton.
Where Carrollton beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Richard Masterson House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Cartmell Elementary | 2–4 | 436 |
| Kathryn Winn Primary | K–1 | 233 |
| Carroll County Middle School | 5–8 | 555 |
Census counts: 120 in 1810, 3,890 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1916 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Carrollton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carrollton, 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 Carrollton.
Carrollton is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and trades workers with Lexington and other neighbors.
Its public schools are run by the Carroll County school district.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 555 | D |
| Carroll County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 578 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Against the 4,320 U.S. towns with household incomes like Carrollton’s, it is less healthy than 67%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
44% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Carrollton, above both the Kentucky town median (40%) and the median of U.S. towns (36%). 17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Carrollton. Carrollton beats the Kentucky average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 13.
| Carrollton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 40% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Carrollton | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 9.5% | 5.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24% | 18.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 19.6% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Carrollton’s property crime rate is 6.3 per 1,000 residents, close to Kentucky’s towns (8.3) and below U.S. towns (9.9).
| Carrollton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.3 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 2.8 years of the county’s $56K median household income, the typical home (about $158K) costs less against local pay than in 79% of Kentucky towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
37% of Carrollton households own their home. The typical Carrollton home is worth about $158,000, down 2.9% in a year, 32% below the Kentucky typical home.
| Carrollton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 37% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $918 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 24.3°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 78% of Kentucky places with climate records; July afternoons average 87.2°.
Carrollton has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. About 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Carrollton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 87°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Carrollton has about as many jobs (1,539) as working residents, but only 268 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 1,976 in 2013 to 1,539.
Most working residents leave Carrollton for work: only 17% work in town. Since 2013, Carrollton has lost 437 jobs, to 1,539 in 2023. The average trip to work in Carrollton is 19 minutes.
| Carrollton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $46,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 15% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Carrollton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.4 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Point Park, at 44 acres.
| Carrollton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Point Park | — | 44 |
| 2. General Butler State Resort Park | — | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Carrollton; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Carrollton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
7 places in Carrollton on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Kentucky, United States
Carrollton is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Kentucky, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kentucky rivers. The population was 3,890 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.
Carrollton grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #111 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades D for health, A− for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
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+.
2 notable people were born here, including Allen W. Gullion and Willis Conway Pierce.
