Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Irvine’s best subject grades are an A− for cost of living and an A for history; its weakest is a D− for health. Only 9 of Kentucky’s 238 towns score lower on hazard risk. The median household income is $43K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. Only 3 of the 120 Kentucky towns we compare have a lower typical home value than Irvine. On history, just 15 of Kentucky’s 238 towns do better. Irvine's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 85% of U.S. towns. Irvine has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Irvine beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
2,715 counted in 2010 and 2,360 in 2020; an estimated 2,273 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Irvine is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 91 in 1830, a peak of 3,640 in 1930, 2,360 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1952 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Irvine, 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 Irvine.
Irvine beats the Kentucky average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 20% of adults report frequent physical distress in Irvine, against 15% in Kentucky’s towns and 14% across U.S. towns. 23% of adults smoke cigarettes in Irvine.
| Irvine | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 23% | 19% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Irvine | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 84.2% | 81.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 31.6% | 18.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Estill County school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estill Springs ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 475 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Irvine’s FEMA risk score is 94 of 100, above both the Kentucky town median (48 of 100) and the median of U.S. towns (44 of 100). Since 2003, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Irvine.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Irvine home is worth about $117,000, down 7.8% in a year, 49% below the Kentucky typical home. 44% of Irvine households own their home.
| Irvine | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 44% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $710 a month | $934 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Irvine has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 26° and about 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Irvine for work: only 11% work in town. The average trip to work in Irvine is 28 minutes. The top destinations are Lexington (21%), Richmond (10%) and Winchester (5%).
| Irvine | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $43,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 15% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Children under 18 are 27% of residents (23% statewide). Irvine has lost 3.6% of its people since 2020, down to 2,273 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Kentucky.
| Irvine | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 26% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.7 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
Somewhere between 39% and 71% women
The Census survey reached too few of Irvine’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±16.2 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Irvine | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.9% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.8% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.8% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.8% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.5% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.8% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.8% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.9% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.9% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.2% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.1% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,300, single groups can be off by several points
0.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Irvine’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Irvine | 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% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rising Park | 0.2 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Irvine; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Irvine residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
3 places in Irvine on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Irvine.
City in Kentucky, United States
Irvine (locally ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Estill County, Kentucky, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, Irvine had a population of 2,360.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Irvine.
Irvine has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Ravenna isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Irvine with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
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−.
4 notable people were born here, including Harry Dean Stanton and John Galt.
