Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Cave City’s subject grades is an A− for safety; the weakest is a D− for health. 30% of residents live below the poverty line in Cave City, above both the Kentucky town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On health, just 8 of Kentucky’s 237 towns do worse. The median household income is $28K, and 30% of residents live below the poverty line. Cave City's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 89% of U.S. towns. Cave City has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Cave City Commercial District and Bransford Spring Pumphouse. Cave City has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Cave City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Cave City Commercial District| Widest gap | Cave City | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 9.9% | 5.4% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Cave City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 387 in 1870, 2,356 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1930 and 3 maps from 1938 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cave City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw3 mi National ParkMammoth Cave National Park661K visitors a year
30 mi National Historical ParkAbraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park213K visitors a year
24 mi MuseumNational Corvette Museum
31 mi CaveLost River Cave5 mi Zoo & aquariumKentucky Down Under
25 mi Theme parkBeech Bend ParkMammoth Cave National Park: Willis Thomas Lee, Public domain · Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park: Jamie from Toronto, ON, CC BY 2.0 · National Corvette Museum: Jonrev at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Lost River Cave: Nyttend, Public domain · Beech Bend Park: Acdixon, CC0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cave City, 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 Cave City.
33% of Cave City adults say their health is fair or poor, against 23% in Kentucky’s towns and 19% across U.S. towns. 21% of Cave City adults report frequent physical distress. Among 142 Kentucky towns, just 9 have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Cave City.
| Cave City | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 23% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 18% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Cave City | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 9.9% | 5.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 26.4% | 15.5% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 31.5% | 18.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Caverna Independent school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caverna Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 330 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Cave City’s violent crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Cave City | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.4 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Cave City has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Cave City is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Only 4 of the 143 Kentucky towns we compare have a lower median household income than Cave City. Most working residents leave Cave City for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in Cave City grew to 796 in 2023, 60 more than in 2013.
| Cave City | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $28,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.4% | 15% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Cave City home is worth about $210,000, down 5.3% in a year, 9% below the Kentucky typical home. 37% of households own their home in Cave City.
| Cave City | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 37% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $704 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 51% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Cave City; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Cave City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
City in Kentucky, United States
Cave City is a home rule-class city in Barren County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 2,356 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Glasgow Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 4.1 years of the area's median household income ($50,729 across the Glasgow, KY area).
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