Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 1,271 residents, this town was settled in 1902.
Stearns’ weakest subject grade is a D− for health. 33% of residents live below the poverty line in Stearns, where Kentucky’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On health, just 3 of Kentucky’s 237 towns do worse. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 91% of U.S. towns. Stearns has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Stearns Administrative and Commercial District and Stearns Golf Course. Stearns has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Stearns beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Stearns | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 17.7% | 10.2% |
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Stearns is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,557 in 1980, 1,365 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1952 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Stearns is unincorporated, so McCreary County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Stearns.
In Stearns, 29% of adults smoke cigarettes, and 19% have diabetes. No town among the 142 in Kentucky we compare has a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Stearns. The share of adults in Stearns who report frequent mental distress: 21%. Among 142 Kentucky towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Stearns.
| Stearns | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 23% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 18% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Stearns | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.1% | 14.2% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 84.7% | 81.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 17.7% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The largest public high school is McCreary Central High School, with 711 students. The public schools here belong to the McCreary County school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCreary County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 633 | C+ |
| McCreary Central High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 711 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Values fell 9.6% in the year to September 2026. 93% of Stearns households are owner-occupiers.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The risk rating from FEMA for Stearns comes to 23 of 100. Expected losses in Stearns break down as 32% from inland flooding and 23% from cold waves.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Of the 143 Kentucky towns we compare, none has a lower peak summer temperature than Stearns. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 26° and about 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most people who work leave Stearns to do it: just 9% work in town. Employers in Stearns shed 474 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 569. Stearns’ mean commuting time stands at 26 minutes. The top destinations are Somerset (11%), Whitley City (8%) and Pine Knot (5%).
| Stearns | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.6% | 15% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Kentucky has 28% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 36%. Adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (38% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide). Stearns’ median age comes in at 38.8 years.
| Stearns | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 26% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.8 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
Somewhere between 28% and 49% women
The Census survey reached too few of Stearns’ residents to say more: its margin here is ±10.4 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Stearns | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.8% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.2% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.7% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.1% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.3% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.6% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.5% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 16.5% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.6% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.5% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.1% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.6% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 4.6% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,300, single groups can be off by several points
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stearns. Close and well known come first.
12 mi WaterfallCumberland Falls
34 mi LakeLake Cumberland
3 mi National RiverBig South Fork National River and Recreation Area774K visitors a year
39 mi State parkFrozen Head State Park
39 mi National Historical ParkCumberland Gap National Historical Park765K visitors a year
4 mi MuseumBlue HeronCumberland Falls: ChrisKuehl, Public domain · Lake Cumberland: Censusdata at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0 · Frozen Head State Park: Brian Stansberry (photographer), CC BY 3.0 · Cumberland Gap National Historical Park: J654567, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blue Heron: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0
None within 15 miles of Stearns; the nearest are
About 8 of every 100 Stearns residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
Census-designated place in Kentucky, United States
Stearns is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in McCreary County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,365 at the 2020 census. It was founded by Justus Smith Stearns.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 3 years of the area's median household income ($33,750 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
