Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,872, settled in 1828.
Providence gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $102K for a typical one, or 1.7 years of the Henderson area’s $59K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 40th among Kentucky's 138 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 92% of the country, and the median household income is $55K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns. No town among the 119 in Kentucky we compare has a lower typical home value than Providence. Providence Commercial Historic District and Bazle Edmiston House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Among 142 Kentucky towns, just 1 have a higher average trip to work than Providence.
Where Providence beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Providence’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 Providence is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for cost of living (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for health (better than 8%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 267 in 1880, a peak of 4,742 in 1930, 2,892 in 2020. The archive holds 2 maps from 1909 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Providence, 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 Providence.
Providence trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Kentucky (mostly inland flooding) and has little public open land.
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
Providence’s property crime rate is 3.9 per 1,000 residents, where Kentucky’s towns sit at 8.3 and U.S. towns at 9.9. Providence’s violent crime rate is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Providence | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Webster County school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Providence Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 299 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Homes are within reach (about $102K for the typical one, A+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 20 miles. At 1.7 years of the Henderson area’s $59K median household income, the typical home (about $102K) costs less against local pay than in 99% of Kentucky towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living.
Providence’s median rent is $672 a month, below both Kentucky’s towns ($937 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). The typical Providence home is worth about $102,000, down 0.7% in a year, 56% below the Kentucky typical home. 58% of Providence households own their home.
| Providence | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $672 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 58% | 59% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
17% of adults have diabetes in Providence. Providence beats the Kentucky average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 44% of adults have high blood pressure in Providence.
| Providence | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Providence | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.8% | 5.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 27% | 18.9% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 5.5% | 4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 645 in 2013 to 478. The average commute for its 1,100 working residents takes 31.8 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky.
Most working residents leave Providence for work: only 12% work in town. Since 2013, Providence has lost 167 jobs, to 478 in 2023. The top destinations are Madisonville (18%), Dixon (6%) and Princeton (4%).
| Providence | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 15% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of Kentucky towns; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Providence is 77 of 100. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Providence since 1994.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Providence has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 26° and about 9 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Just 17 of its 3,876 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Providence itself; its outdoors grade is D.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Providence City Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Providence
About 4 of every 100 Providence residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
5 notable people were born in Providence.
City in Kentucky, United States
Providence is a home rule-class city in Webster County, Kentucky, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, Providence had a population of 2,892, making it the most populous community in the county.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Providence grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #40 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 Marian Carr and Alicia Austin.
