Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fulton’s best subject grade is an A− for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for health. 31% of residents live below the poverty line in Fulton, against 16% in Kentucky’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On safety, just 6 of Kentucky’s 180 towns do worse. The median household income is $36K, and 31% of residents live below the poverty line. Fulton has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Jesse Whitesell House and Confederate Memorial in Fulton. Fulton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Fulton beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jesse Whitesell House| Widest gap | Fulton | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 29.3% | 15.5% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Fulton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 826 in 1880, a peak of 3,502 in 1930, 2,357 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1956 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fulton, 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 Fulton.
32% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Fulton, above both Kentucky’s towns (23%) and U.S. towns (19%). 20% of Fulton adults report frequent physical distress. Of the 142 Kentucky towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Fulton.
| Fulton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 23% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Fulton | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 10.2% | 14.2% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 84.7% | 81.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 29.3% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Fulton Independent school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton Independent SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 293 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Fulton’s median rent is $567 a month. The typical Fulton home is worth about $111,000, down 2.1% in a year, 52% below the Kentucky typical home. 53% of households own their home in Fulton.
| Fulton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $567 a month | $934 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 53% | 59% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The property crime rate in Fulton is 42.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Fulton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 42.3 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 86% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fulton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fulton has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 28° and about 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 5 of Fulton’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Fulton has lost 168 jobs, to 1,100 in 2023. Among 143 Kentucky towns, just 9 have a lower median household income than Fulton.
| Fulton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $36,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 15% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Fulton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fulton City Park | — | 10 |
| 2. Bennie Gordon Memorial Park | — | 3 |
| 3. Pontotoc Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Fulton
About 2 of every 100 Fulton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
6 places in Fulton on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Fulton.
City in Kentucky, United States
Fulton is a home rule-class city in Fulton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,357 at the 2020 census, down from 2,445 at the 2010 census. It was once known as the "Banana Capital of the World", because 70% of imported bananas to the U.S. used to be shipped through the city. Fulton is part of the Union City-Hickman, TN–KY Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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 A−.
6 notable people were born here, including Blaine Denning and Burton Rascoe.
