Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,665, settled in 1801.
Hartford gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $158K for a typical one, or 2.7 years of the county’s $58K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 45th of 138 in Kentucky. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 83% of the country, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 69% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 77% of U.S. towns. Hartford has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Pendleton House and Samuel E. Hill House. Among 139 Kentucky towns, just 1 have a lower median rent than Hartford.
Where Hartford beats most towns.
Census counts: 74 in 1800, 2,668 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 3 maps from 1909 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Hartford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hartford, 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 Hartford.
Hartford draws workers from Beaver Dam and beyond and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has little public open land.
2,155 jobs are based in Hartford, 2.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Hartford’s working residents works in town. At 19 minutes, Hartford’s average trip to work is where Kentucky’s towns sit at 22 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. 13% of Hartford residents live below the poverty line.
| Hartford | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 15% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Ohio County school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayland Alexander Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 635 | A− |
| Ohio County Day TreatmentLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 25 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
13% of adults binge drink in Hartford, against 14% in Kentucky’s towns and 16% across U.S. towns. 19% of adults smoke cigarettes in Hartford. Hartford beats the Kentucky average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Hartford | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| What stands out | Hartford | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.1% | 15.5% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 7.2% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The property crime rate in Hartford is 3 per 1,000 residents.
| Hartford | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 2.7 years of the county’s $58K median household income, the typical home (about $158K) costs less against local pay than in 84% of Kentucky towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living. The typical value, about $158K, is 9% below its September 2025 peak.
Typical home values fell 9.3% in the year to September 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Hartford has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Hartford’s July high is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Kentucky average. 20% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Kentucky.
| Hartford | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 20% | 26% | 29% |
| Median age | 37.4 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Hartford | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 15.1% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.3% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.5% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.3% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.8% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.9% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 15.8% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.4% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.1% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.1% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 9.8% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.8% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,700, single groups can be off by several points
Just 4 of its 1,819 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Hartford itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.3 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Hartford | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ellis Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Hartford; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Hartford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
Where Hartford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Hartford on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Hartford.
City in Kentucky, United States
Hartford is a home rule-class city in Ohio County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 2,668 at the 2020 census. The town slogan, "Home of 2,000 happy people and a few soreheads", welcomes visitors when they enter the community. The Hartford, Kentucky website explains that "soreheads are community-minded, progressive citizens who work to promote civic pride".
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Hartford grades B overall, better than 62% of U.S. towns and #45 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C− for health, A− for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
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+.
8 notable people were born here, including Virgil Earp and Charles Courtney Curran.
