Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Middlesborough grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $31K, and 31% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. In its favor, it is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns. 31% of residents live below the poverty line in Middlesborough, where Kentucky’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On hazard risk, just 1 of Kentucky’s 238 towns do worse. Middlesborough's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 95% of U.S. towns.
Where Middlesborough beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Limited American Association Office BuildingWhere Middlesborough’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 Middlesborough is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,271 in 1890, a peak of 14,482 in 1950, 9,405 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1921 and 4 maps from 1927 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Middlesborough, 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 Middlesborough.
Middlesborough draws workers from Harrogate and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Kentucky (mostly inland flooding).
Against the 688 U.S. towns with household incomes like Middlesborough’s, it is less healthy than 58%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
46% of Middlesborough adults have high blood pressure. Among 141 Kentucky towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Middlesborough. 17% of Middlesborough adults have diabetes.
| Middlesborough | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 38% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Middlesborough | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 30.5% | 18.9% |
| More uninsured adults | 8.7% | 5.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 22.6% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Middlesboro Independent school district. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Middlesboro High School, with 337 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow Creek School CenterLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 575 | B− |
| Middlesboro High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 337 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
4,621 jobs are based in Middlesborough, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.5 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky.
About one in 3 of Middlesborough’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Middlesborough is 18 minutes. Only 5 of the 142 Kentucky towns we compare have a lower median household income than Middlesborough.
| Middlesborough | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 36% | 15% | 8% |
| Median household income | $31,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Kentucky towns, with expected losses of about $335 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
Middlesborough’s FEMA risk score is 97 of 100. Since 1982, 46 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Middlesborough.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2.7 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, at 161 acres.
| Middlesborough | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.7% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fords Woods Park | 0.3 mi | 7 |
| 2. Cumberland Gap National Historical Park | — | 161 |
| 3. Southside Park | 0.1 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Middlesborough has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 25° and about 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
31% of residents live below the poverty line, against 16.1% across Kentucky, which weighs on its D− for jobs and income. The median household earns $31,106, against $63,726 across Kentucky.
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Kentucky average. Middlesborough has lost 6.5% of its people since 2020, down to 8,776 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 19% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Middlesborough.
| Middlesborough | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 19% | 26% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 42.1 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Middlesborough | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.5% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.2% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.1% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.1% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.5% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.6% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 20.2% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.3% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.6% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 12.1% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.8% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
61.1% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 45.4% across Kentucky.
Only 3 of the 139 Kentucky towns we compare have a lower median rent than Middlesborough.
| Middlesborough | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $598 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 55% | 59% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Middlesborough
About 6 of every 100 Middlesborough residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
6 places in Middlesborough on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Kentucky, United States
Middlesboro (locally ) is a home rule-class city in Bell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,334 at the 2010 U.S. census, while its micropolitan area had a population of 69,060. It is located 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the Cumberland Gap and is the largest city in southeastern Kentucky. It is located entirely between Pine Mountain and the Cumberland Mountains in the Middlesboro Basin, an enormous meteorite crater (one of three known astroblemes in the state).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Middlesborough grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns. It grades D− for health and D for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
The typical home is worth about $100,000, 57% below the Kentucky typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
