Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,455, settled in 1813.
Mount Vernon’s best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and an A− for safety; its weakest is a D for incomes. 33% of residents live below the poverty line in Mount Vernon, above both Kentucky’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). On cost of living, just 9 of Kentucky’s 238 towns do better. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 91% of the country. Mount Vernon's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 91% of U.S. towns. Mount Vernon has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mount Vernon Commercial District and Bennett Hiatt Log House. Mount Vernon has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Mount Vernon beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Mount Vernon’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 Mount Vernon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1916.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Vernon, 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 Mount Vernon.
About one in 4 of Mount Vernon’s working residents works in town. At $39,000, Mount Vernon’s median household income is below both the Kentucky town median ($60,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). Since 2013, Mount Vernon has lost 346 jobs, to 2,215 in 2023.
| Mount Vernon | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 15% | 8% |
| Median household income | $39,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Rockcastle County school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Rockcastle County High School, with 796 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockcastle County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 600 | B− |
| Rockcastle County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 796 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon beats the Kentucky average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 45% of adults have high blood pressure in Mount Vernon.
| Mount Vernon | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 38% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Mount Vernon | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.4% | 5.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 27.1% | 18.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.8% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Mount Vernon home is worth about $137,000, down 12.5% in a year, 41% below the Kentucky typical home. The median rent in Mount Vernon is $620 a month.
| Mount Vernon | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $620 a month | $934 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Mount Vernon’s violent crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Mount Vernon | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.1 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Mount Vernon has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Of the 143 Kentucky towns we compare, none has a lower July high than Mount Vernon.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Mount Vernon | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 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. Mt. Vernon Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Mount Vernon
About 1 of every 100 Mount Vernon residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
3 places in Mount Vernon on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Kentucky, United States
Mount Vernon is a home rule-class city and the seat of Rockcastle County in southeastern Kentucky. The intersection of U.S. Routes 25 and 150 is located here. As of the 2020 census, Mount Vernon had a population of 2,453. Mount Vernon is part of the Richmond-Berea micropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
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+.
2 notable people were born here, including George Payne and Katharine McCall.
