Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,512, settled in 1813.
Morgantown gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $183K, 2.9 years of the Bowling Green metro’s $63K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 66th among Kentucky's 138 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. On CDC health estimates it is near the bottom nationally, and the median household income is $38K, and 37% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 81% of U.S. towns. 37% of residents live below the poverty line in Morgantown, above both Kentucky’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Among 142 Kentucky towns, just 1 have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Morgantown. Morgantown has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them John Carson House and Confederate-Union Veterans' Monument in Morgantown.
Where Morgantown beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Morgantown | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 13% | 5.4% |
Where Morgantown’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 Morgantown is from typical.
Its grades run from A for cost of living (better than 91% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 1%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 89 in 1850, 2,505 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 3 maps from 1914 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Morgantown, 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 Morgantown.
Morgantown trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and draws workers from Bowling Green and beyond, but it has poverty well above the Kentucky rate.
35% of Morgantown adults say their health is fair or poor. No town among the 141 in Kentucky we compare has a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Morgantown. 21% of Morgantown adults report frequent mental distress.
| Morgantown | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 18% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 27% | 25% |
| What stands out | Morgantown | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.2% | 14.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 13% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Butler County school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Butler County High School, with 662 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgantown Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 610 | C− |
| Butler County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 662 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
2,219 jobs are based in Morgantown, 2.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Morgantown’s working residents works in town. Among 142 Kentucky towns, just 10 have a lower median household income than Morgantown. Since 2013, Morgantown has added 154 jobs, to 2,219 in 2023.
| Morgantown | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 29% | 15% | 8% |
| Median household income | $38,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The property crime rate in Morgantown is 2.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Morgantown | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Morgantown has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Morgantown’s July high is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $183K 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 Bowling Green metro’s $63K median household income, the typical home (about $183K) costs less against local pay than in 76% of Kentucky towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
31% of households own their home in Morgantown. Typical home values fell 11% in the year to September 2026. Among 139 Kentucky towns, just 7 have a lower median rent than Morgantown.
| Morgantown | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 31% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $628 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Morgantown; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Morgantown residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
2 places in Morgantown on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Morgantown.
City in Kentucky, United States
Morgantown is a home rule-class city in, and the seat of Butler County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,471 at the time of the 2020 Census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Morgantown grades C+ overall, better than 43% of U.S. towns and #66 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades D− for health, A− for safety and B− for schools. Health 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 John W. Harreld and Everette B. Howard.
