Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Shelbyville is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, ranked 104th of 138 in Kentucky, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 63% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its schools rank behind 79% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $312K, 4.2 years of the Louisville/Jefferson County metro’s $74K median household income. Its National Register listings include Science Hill School and Bayne House. Shelbyville’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, above both the Kentucky town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
Where Shelbyville beats most towns.
Census counts: 262 in 1800, a low of 262 in 1800, 17,282 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 5 maps from 1927 on.
35 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Shelbyville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shelbyville, 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 Shelbyville.
Shelbyville has a shorter frost-free season than almost anywhere else in Kentucky, trades workers with Louisville and other neighbors and looks healthier within Kentucky than nationally.
On this, Shelbyville is close to Kentucky’s towns (1.8%) and below U.S. towns (4.3%). 11 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Shelby County school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby County West Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 563 | C |
| Shelby County Summer SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | – | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $2,455, against $1,544 across Kentucky, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Shelbyville home is worth about $313,000, about the same as a year ago, 35% above the Kentucky typical home. 56% of households own their home in Shelbyville.
| Shelbyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,033 a month | $930 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Within Kentucky it is less healthy than 54% of the 141 graded towns: much of Kentucky scores lower on these measures.
Shelbyville beats the Kentucky average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 21% of Shelbyville adults worry about having enough food. Among 141 Kentucky towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Shelbyville.
| Shelbyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 40% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Shelbyville | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.3% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 6.9% | 8.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 9.9% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Louisville Wfo weather station, 23 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 209 days, the lowest of 554 Kentucky places with climate records. January nights average 23.9°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 84% of Kentucky places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.9°.
Shelbyville has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. About 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Shelbyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 87°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 226 to 147 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 9 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Shelbyville is 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Shelbyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.6 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Shelbyville has about as many jobs (8,970) as working residents, but only 1,492 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Shelbyville for work: only 19% work in town. Shelbyville’s average trip to work is 27 minutes. Since 2013, Shelbyville has added 991 jobs, to 8,970 in 2023.
| Shelbyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 15% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 26% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 13% of residents (17% statewide). Shelbyville has grown 6.6% since 2020, to 18,453 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Kentucky.
| Shelbyville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 34.8 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 24% | 22% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women. Median age: women 34.5, men 35.8.
| Shelbyville | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.3% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.3% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.7% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.8% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.1% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.2% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 15% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.4% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.7% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.8% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.9% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 2000, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Shelbyville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Shelbyville; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Shelbyville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
14,045 counted in 2010 and 17,282 in 2020; an estimated 18,453 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 6.6% since 2020, after 23% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
35 places in Shelbyville on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Shelbyville.
City in Kentucky, United States
Shelbyville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Shelby County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,282 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Shelbyville grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #104 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C for health, B for safety and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
17 notable people were born here, including Augustus Owsley Stanley and Vernon Benjamin Mountcastle.
