Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Stanford gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $212K for a typical one, or 3.7 years of the Danville area’s $57K median household income. It grades A− overall, 34th among Kentucky's 138 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 76% of the country. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 82% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include McCormack Church and Lincoln County Courthouse. Stanford's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 88% of U.S. towns. Among 115 Kentucky towns, just 3 have a lower property crime rate than Stanford.
Where Stanford beats most towns.
Samuel and Mary Logan Briggs HouseIts founding year, 1775, comes before those of 98% of the Kentucky towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 66 in 1800, 3,640 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1851 and 3 maps from 1952 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Stanford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stanford, 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 Stanford.
Stanford pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Kentucky norm, draws workers from Danville and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
2,747 jobs are based in Stanford, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Stanford for work: only 16% work in town. At 27 minutes, Stanford’s average trip to work is against 22 minutes in Kentucky’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Stanford’s median household income is $49,000.
| Stanford | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 15% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 16% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Lincoln County school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lincoln County High School, with 886 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 697 | C+ |
| Lincoln County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 886 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
At 0.8 per 1,000 residents, Stanford’s violent crime rate is where Kentucky’s towns sit at 1.3 and U.S. towns at 1.6.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1.8 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest place to walk is First Southern Veterans Park, 48 acres with 1.2 miles of trail.
| Stanford | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 1.8% | 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. First Southern Veterans Park | 1.2 mi | 48 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 5,542 U.S. towns with household incomes like Stanford’s, it is healthier than 57%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
42% of Stanford adults have high blood pressure. Stanford beats the Kentucky average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 13% of Stanford adults binge drink.
| Stanford | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Stanford | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.1% | 5.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 23.6% | 18.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 18.5% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 20 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stanford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Stanford has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 25° and about 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 25% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (22% statewide). The median age in Stanford is 49.3 years. Stanford has grown 3% since 2020, to 3,761 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Stanford | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.3 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 18% | 26% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.2 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Stanford | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.5% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.9% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.5% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.4% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.8% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.6% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41.7% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.9% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.4% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 9.9% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.5% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,800, single groups can be off by several points
Stanford grades A− overall with a typical home of about $212K, below the Kentucky typical value; only 7 of the 30 Kentucky towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Stanford home is worth about $212,000, down 1.3% in a year, 8% below the Kentucky typical home. Among 139 Kentucky towns, just 10 have a lower median rent than Stanford.
| Stanford | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $669 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 59% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stanford. Close and well known come first.
35 mi Stadium & arenaKroger Field
37 mi Stadium & arenaRupp Arena
38 mi GardenLexington Cemetery
20 mi Ancient sitePleasant Hill
33 mi State parkFort Boonesborough State Park
18 mi National MonumentCamp Nelson National Monument21K visitors a yearKroger Field: Navin75, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rupp Arena: The original uploader was Analogue Kid at English Wikipedia., CC BY 2.5 · Lexington Cemetery: Analogue Kid at en.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5 · Pleasant Hill: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Fort Boonesborough State Park: Bubba73, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Camp Nelson National Monument: C. Bedford Crenshaw, aka Bedford at English Wikipedia, Attribution
1 within 15 miles of the center of Stanford
About 3 of every 100 Stanford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
Where Stanford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
9 places in Stanford on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Stanford.
City in Kentucky, United States
Stanford is a home rule-class city in Lincoln County, Kentucky, United States. It is one of the oldest settlements in Kentucky, having been founded in 1775. Its population was 3,487 at the 2010 census and an estimated 3,702 in 2024. It is the county seat of Lincoln County. Stanford is part of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
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. Stanford grades A− overall, better than 76% of U.S. towns and #34 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C− for health, A− for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
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.
13 notable people were born here, including John Henry and Laura Kirkpatrick.
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