Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Horse Cave’s subject grades are an A− for cost of living and safety; the weakest is a D− for schools. 35% of residents live below the poverty line in Horse Cave, above both Kentucky’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). On health, just 15 of Kentucky’s 237 towns do worse. The median household income is $51K, and 35% of residents live below the poverty line. Horse Cave's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 91% of U.S. towns. Horse Cave has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Horse Cave Historic District and Henrytown Historic District. Horse Cave has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Horse Cave beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Caverna Middle School | 6–8 | 115 |
| Caverna High School | 9–12 | 209 |
Where Horse Cave’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Horse Cave is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1940.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Horse Cave. Close and well known come first.
Big draw5 mi National ParkMammoth Cave National Park661K visitors a year
27 mi National Historical ParkAbraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park213K visitors a year
28 mi MuseumNational Corvette Museumin town Zoo & aquariumKentucky Down Under
34 mi CaveLost River Cave
28 mi Theme parkBeech Bend ParkMammoth Cave National Park: Willis Thomas Lee, Public domain · Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park: Jamie from Toronto, ON, CC BY 2.0 · National Corvette Museum: Jonrev at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Lost River Cave: Nyttend, Public domain · Beech Bend Park: Acdixon, CC0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Horse Cave, 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 Horse Cave.
Its public schools are run by the Caverna Independent school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caverna Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 115 | C− |
| Caverna High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 209 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
33% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Horse Cave, against 23% in Kentucky’s towns and 19% across U.S. towns. 21% of Horse Cave adults report frequent physical distress. No town among the 142 in Kentucky we compare has a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Horse Cave.
| Horse Cave | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 23% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Horse Cave | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 10.7% | 14.2% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 84.6% | 81.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 28.5% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
About one in 4 of Horse Cave’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Horse Cave is 18 minutes. Since 2013, Horse Cave has added 411 jobs, to 2,948 in 2023.
| Horse Cave | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 15% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Of the 116 Kentucky towns we compare, none has a lower property crime rate than Horse Cave. Horse Cave’s violent crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents. Horse Cave reports less crime per resident than 80% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade.
| Horse Cave | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 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 75% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Horse Cave since 2010.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Horse Cave home is worth about $172,000, up 2.7% in a year, 25% below the Kentucky typical home. 54% of households own their home in Horse Cave. Only 10 of the 140 Kentucky towns we compare have a lower median rent than Horse Cave.
| Horse Cave | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $651 a month | $934 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Horse Cave has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 26° and about 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
None within 15 miles of Horse Cave; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Horse Cave residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
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−.
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