Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,828, settled in 1855.
Russell Springs’s weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $39K, and 28% of residents live below the poverty line. Overall, Russell Springs earns a C: better than 28% of U.S. towns, and 97th of 138 in Kentucky. A typical home there costs about $161K, 3.6 years of the county’s $45K median household income. Where it does best is schools (A) — its public schools beat 85% of Kentucky towns on state tests and graduation. Health is weaker too: residents are less healthy than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than four fifths of U.S. towns. Only 5 of the 115 Kentucky towns we compare have a higher rate of reported violence than Russell Springs. The town has 1 place on the National Register.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · health, CDC PLACES · FBI crime data, 2025 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Russell Springs beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Russell Springs Elementary School | PK–5 | 632 |
| Russell County Middle School | 6–8 | 652 |
| Russell County High School | 9–12 | 859 |
2,441 counted in 2010 and 2,715 in 2020; an estimated 2,828 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 Russell Springs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 104 in 1910, 2,715 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Russell Springs, 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 Russell Springs.
Russell Springs draws workers from Jamestown and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
2,868 jobs are based in Russell Springs, 2.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 14.8 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky.
The typical journey to work for Russell Springs comes to 15 minutes. Jobs in Russell Springs grew by 307 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 2,868. Half the trips to work are shorter than 10 miles. The top destinations are Jamestown (11%), Somerset (5%) and Columbia (4%).
| Russell Springs | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 28% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 15% | 8% |
| Median household income | $39,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The public schools here belong to the Russell County school district. Below: Two of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked. The largest public high school is Russell County High School, with 859 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 652 | B+ |
| Russell County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 859 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Against the 2,031 U.S. towns with household incomes like Russell Springs’s, it is healthier than 58%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Russell Springs, above both Kentucky’s towns (15%) and U.S. towns (14%). Among adults here, 13% binge drink. In Russell Springs, a fifth of adults smoke cigarettes, and 26% say their health is fair or poor.
| Russell Springs | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 19% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Russell Springs | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.9% | 5.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.5% | 10.2% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.7% | 4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Russell Springs’ midpoint rent is $745 a month. Nearly half of households live in a home they own here, below both the Kentucky town median (59%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). Values fell 3.9% in the year to September 2026.
| Russell Springs | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $745 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in Russell Springs than in just over three quarters of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Russell Springs break down as 34% from inland flooding and 22% from tornadoes. Also worth knowing: households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2025.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The range runs from 25° on a January night to 86° on a July afternoon, with about 5 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For Russell Springs, the rate of reported violence is 3.2 per 1,000 residents. The level of property crime here is 6 per 1,000 residents.
| Russell Springs | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Among adults 25 and older, 28% have a four-year degree or more, against 28% across Kentucky. Russell Springs’ midpoint age stands at 45.9 years. It has grown 3.8% since 2020, to 2,828 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Russell Springs | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 45.9 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 22% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.2 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Russell Springs | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.7% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.9% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.2% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.4% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.5% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 18.4% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.9% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 10.1% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.5% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 12.9% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.2% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,800, single groups can be off by several points
Walkers can cover 1.3 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Leroy Rowe Memorial Park, at 60 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Russell Springs’ trail density comes in at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Russell Springs | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Leroy Rowe Memorial Park | 1.3 mi | 60 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Russell Springs
About 7 of every 100 Russell Springs residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
Where Russell Springs’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Kentucky, United States
Russell Springs is a home rule-class city in Russell County, Kentucky, in the United States. The city is the gateway to Lake Cumberland, one of the largest man-made lakes in the region, created by Wolf Creek Dam. It is the largest city in the county; as of the 2020 census, Russell Springs had a population of 2,715.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Russell Springs.
| Town | KY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Springs | #97 | C | B− | B | A | D |
| Jamestown | — | — | B− | A− | A | D− |
Jamestown has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Russell Springs with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Russell Springs grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #97 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades D for health, B for safety and A for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.