Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Greenville gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $148K for a typical one, or 2.9 years of the county’s $52K median household income. It grades C overall, 83rd among Kentucky's 138 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $46K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line, and its public schools trail 84% of Kentucky towns on state tests and graduation. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 80% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Muhlenberg County Courthouse and George Short House. Only 2 of the 115 Kentucky towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Greenville. The biggest park or preserve is Ray Jones Family Athletic Complex, at 61 acres.
Where Greenville beats most towns.
Muhlenberg County CourthouseCensus counts: 217 in 1830, 4,492 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 5 maps from 1913 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Greenville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Greenville, 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 Greenville.
Greenville trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, draws workers from Central City and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
2,565 jobs are based in Greenville, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Greenville’s working residents works in town. Greenville’s median household income is $46,000, below both Kentucky’s towns ($60,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). Jobs based in Greenville fell to 2,565 in 2023, 467 fewer than in 2013.
| Greenville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $46,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Muhlenberg County school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Muhlenberg County High School, with 1,123 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 620 | B |
| Muhlenberg County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,123 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
2.5 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Greenville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ray Jones Family Athletic Complex | 0.6 mi | 61 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Homes are within reach (about $149K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 22 miles. At 2.9 years of the county’s $52K median household income, the typical home (about $149K) costs less against local pay than in 76% of Kentucky towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
Greenville’s median rent is $602 a month, below both the Kentucky town median ($937 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Typical home values fell 7.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Greenville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $602 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 59% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 4,368 U.S. towns with household incomes like Greenville’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. Within Kentucky it is less healthy than 51% of the 141 graded towns: much of Kentucky scores lower on these measures.
Greenville beats the Kentucky average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 43% of Greenville adults have high blood pressure.
| Greenville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Greenville | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Greenville has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Greenville’s July high is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 25% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (22% statewide). The median age in Greenville is 46 years. Greenville has lost 3.2% of its people since 2020, down to 4,350 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Greenville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 17% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.9 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Greenville | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.6% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.5% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.6% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.6% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.9% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.7% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.5% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.7% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.8% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.2% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,400, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Greenville; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Greenville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
Where Greenville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
11 places in Greenville on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Greenville.
City in Kentucky, United States
Greenville is a home rule-class city in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 4,492 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Greenville.
| Town | KY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville | #83 | C | A | A− | C− | C |
| Powderly | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Powderly isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Greenville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Greenville grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #83 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C for health, A− for safety and C− for schools. Jobs & income 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 A.
5 notable people were born here, including Miles Heizer and Brent Yonts.
