Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Elizabethtown is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 77th among Kentucky's 138 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 66% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $61K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $266K, 3.9 years of the Elizabethtown metro’s $68K median household income. 36% of working residents work locally in Elizabethtown, above both Kentucky’s towns (15%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include First Baptist Church and Helm Place.
Where Elizabethtown beats most towns.
Brown Pusey House Community Center| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Elizabethtown Community and Technical College | 3,902 |
Its 37 National Register listings are more than in 95% of Kentucky towns with a listing.
Census counts: 181 in 1810, a low of 181 in 1810, 31,394 in 2020. The archive holds 76 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 5 maps from 1938 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Elizabethtown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elizabethtown, 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 Elizabethtown.
Elizabethtown draws workers from Radcliff and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
20 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Freeman Lake Park, 359 acres with 3.9 miles of trail. The trail density in Elizabethtown is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Elizabethtown | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Freeman Lake Park | 3.9 mi | 359 |
| 2. Elizabethtown Nature Park | 1.2 mi | 27 |
| 3. American Legion Park | — | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Hardin County school district. Three of its 16 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Hardin Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 775 | A− |
| Central Hardin High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,831 | A− |
| G C Burkhead Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 634 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
26,942 jobs are based in Elizabethtown, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Elizabethtown’s working residents works in town. Elizabethtown’s average trip to work is 20 minutes. Since 2013, Elizabethtown has added 2,057 jobs, to 26,942 in 2023.
| Elizabethtown | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 6.5% | 10% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,122 U.S. towns with household incomes like Elizabethtown’s, it is healthier than 50%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. Within Kentucky it is healthier than 57% of the 141 graded towns: much of Kentucky scores lower on these measures.
Elizabethtown tracks Kentucky closely on all 31 CDC measures. 42% of Elizabethtown adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Elizabethtown | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 40% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 39% | 35% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 339 to 263 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Elizabethtown has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 25° and about 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 51 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Elizabethtown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
49% of households own their home in Elizabethtown. The typical Elizabethtown home is worth about $266,000, down 2.5% in a year, 15% above the Kentucky typical home.
| Elizabethtown | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $909 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Kentucky average. Elizabethtown has grown 13% since 2020, to 35,448 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Kentucky.
| Elizabethtown | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 35.7 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.4 points). Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.9, men 35.5.
| Elizabethtown | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.1% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.2% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.6% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.7% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.6% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.2% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.2% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.7% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.7% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.7% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.3% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.7% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.6% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Elizabethtown. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi LandmarkUnited States Bullion Depository
Big draw31 mi National ParkMammoth Cave National Park661K visitors a year
14 mi National Historical ParkAbraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park213K visitors a year39 mi MuseumSons of the American Revolution
35 mi Theme parkKentucky Kingdom
35 mi Stadium & arenaL&N Federal Credit Union StadiumUnited States Bullion Depository: Work permit Original author=Cliff, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mammoth Cave National Park: Willis Thomas Lee, Public domain · Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park: Jamie from Toronto, ON, CC BY 2.0 · Kentucky Kingdom: Stevietheman at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium: Perthsider, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Elizabethtown
About 5 of every 100 Elizabethtown residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
37 places in Elizabethtown on the National Register of Historic Places.
19 notable people were born in Elizabethtown.
City in Kentucky, United States
Elizabethtown is a city in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,394 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth-most populous city in the state. It is the principal city of the Elizabethtown metropolitan area, which is included in the Louisville/Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Madison, Kentucky-Indiana combined statistical area. The Elizabethtown metropolitan area had a population of 125,569 in 2020. Elizabethtown is a home-rule class city under Kentucky law.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Elizabethtown.
| Town | KY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabethtown | #77 | C | B− | B+ | C+ | C |
| Cecilia | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Radcliff | #121 | C− | B+ | C | C+ | D |
Cecilia isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Elizabethtown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Elizabethtown grades C overall, better than 35% of U.S. towns and #77 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C for health, B+ for safety and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
19 notable people were born here, including Kelly Rutherford and Charles Middleton.
.jpg){kind=link}
