ElsmereKY
A town of 9,521, settled in 1885. Public schools that outperform most of Kentucky.
Is Elsmere a good place to live?
Elsmere gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $222K, 2.7 years of the Cincinnati metro’s $81K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 43rd of 138 in Kentucky. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 84% of Kentucky towns. Only 16 of Kentucky’s 238 towns score higher on hazard risk. Elsmere's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 93% of U.S. towns. Only 3 of the 142 Kentucky towns we compare have a lower typical July afternoon high than Elsmere.
What makes Elsmere stand out
Where Elsmere beats most towns.
98% of working residents leave Elsmere for work
Where Elsmere’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Elsmere grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Elsmere is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Paycor Stadium and 50 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Elsmere. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Stadium & arenaPaycor Stadium
Big draw26 mi Theme parkArk Encounter
9 mi Stadium & arenaGreat American Ball Park
Big draw30 mi Theme parkKings Island3.5M visitors a year
12 mi MuseumCreation Museum1.2M visitors a year
11 mi Stadium & arenaNippert StadiumPhoto credits
Paycor Stadium: JonRidinger, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ark Encounter: OlinEJ, CC0 · Great American Ball Park: Eric Kilby profile at Flickr website, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kings Island: Eli Duke from Portland, OR, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Creation Museum: Creashin at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Nippert Stadium: Ben Levin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Moving to Elsmere: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elsmere, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Elsmere.
Elsmere pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
For schools, Elsmere earns an A−
That grade comes with a B for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $222K.
The public schools here belong to the Erlanger-Elsmere Independent school district. One of its 3 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. The 2 public schools in Elsmere teach 552 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howell Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 299 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Elsmere’s workers commute out
16% of residents live below the poverty line in Elsmere, against 16% in Kentucky’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. For most workers, Elsmere is a place to come home to: only 2% work in town. The typical journey to work for Elsmere comes to 18 minutes. The top destinations are Florence (12%), Cincinnati (8%) and Erlanger (5%).
| Elsmere | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 15% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazards: low risk in Elsmere, mostly tornadoes
Elsmere’s natural-hazard score from FEMA is 24 of 100, where Kentucky’s towns sit at 48 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100. 29% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from tornadoes, followed by inland flooding at 28%. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in just over three quarters of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
More adults under 35 in Elsmere than across Kentucky
Adults 18 to 34 are 32% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (38% statewide). 24% of residents are under 18 in Elsmere. Its midpoint age stands at 30.6 years. 9,521 people lived in Elsmere by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, 4% more than in 2020.
| Elsmere | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 30.6 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 26% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.3 points). Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Elsmere | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.5% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.5% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.1% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.1% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 2.8% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.6% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 38% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.5% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.6% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.4% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 2.9% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
On CDC estimates, Elsmere is less healthy than two in three U.S. towns
Against the 9,062 U.S. towns with household incomes like Elsmere’s, it is less healthy than 50%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. Within Kentucky it is healthier than 56% of the 141 graded towns: much of Kentucky scores lower on these measures.
The share of adults in Elsmere who smoke cigarettes: 20%. CDC measures, 31 in all: Elsmere beats Kentucky on 4 and trails on 2. Two figures for adults in the town: 28% have been diagnosed with depression, 76% had a checkup this year.
| Elsmere | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 79% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 40% | 36% |
| What stands out | Elsmere | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.9% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 6.6% | 8.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 7.5% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Less crime per resident in Elsmere than in 66% of U.S. towns
Elsmere’s rate of thefts and burglaries comes in at 6 per 1,000 residents. In Elsmere, the rate of reported violence is 1.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Elsmere | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The climate in Elsmere brings four seasons and pleasant summers
A winter brings about 23 inches of snow, with January nights at 23° and July afternoons at 85°.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For cost of living, Elsmere earns a B
At 2.7 years of the Cincinnati metro’s $81K median household income, the typical home (about $222K) costs less against local pay than in 84% of Kentucky towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. The typical value, about $222K, is 9% below its March 2025 peak.
On the market in Elsmere: a median 5 days to sell. In the year to September 2026, typical home values slipped 7.5%. Its midpoint rent is $1,351 a month.
| Elsmere | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 75% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,351 a month | $930 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1.3% of the land in Elsmere is protected from building
For Elsmere, the concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile. 0.2 miles of trail wind through 1 park or preserve. One park or preserve covers 6 acres in the town.
| Elsmere | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Covered Bridge Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Elsmere
Colleges nearby
13 within 15 miles of the center of Elsmere
About 9 of every 100 Elsmere residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
About Elsmere
City in Kentucky, United States
Elsmere is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 9,159 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1896
- Area
- 2.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 919 ft
- Area code
- 859
Elsmere’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Elsmere.
| Town | KY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elsmere | #43 | B | B | B+ | A− | C |
| Erlanger | #9 | A+ | A− | A− | A− | B |
| Independence | #6 | A+ | B | A | A | A− |
Questions about Elsmere
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Elsmere, KY a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Elsmere grades B overall, better than 65% of U.S. towns and #43 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools.
Is Elsmere, KY expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.