West Van LearKY
A town of 1,155, settled in 1912.
Is West Van Lear a good place to live?
West Van Lear’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. No town in Kentucky scores lower than West Van Lear on hazard risk. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Among 143 Kentucky towns, just 7 have a higher share of households owning their home than West Van Lear. West Van Lear has 2 places on the National Register. West Van Lear has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,155 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How West Van Lear grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far West Van Lear is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to West Van Lear: who provides what
West Van Lear is unincorporated, so Johnson 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in West Van Lear.
West Van Lear stands out in Kentucky and nationally: the FEMA risk score there is higher
West Van Lear’s FEMA risk score is 99 of 100, above both the Kentucky town median (48 of 100) and the median of U.S. towns (44 of 100).
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of West Van Lear’s workers commute out: the town has 0.2 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave West Van Lear for work: only 0% work in town. 3.5% of residents live below the poverty line in West Van Lear, against 16% in Kentucky’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Jobs based in West Van Lear fell to 57 in 2023, 58 fewer than in 2013.
| West Van Lear | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.5% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
On CDC estimates, West Van Lear is less healthy than 69% of U.S. towns
West Van Lear beats the Kentucky average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 28% of West Van Lear adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| West Van Lear | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 40% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | West Van Lear | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.8% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
West Van Lear has four seasons and pleasant summers
West Van Lear has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 25° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum and 3 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Van Lear. Close and well known come first.
4 mi MuseumU.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum
6 mi MuseumMountain Homeplace7 mi MuseumEast Kentucky Science Center
16 mi MuseumMagoffin County Pioneer Village and MuseumPhoto credits
U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum: J654567, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mountain Homeplace: J654567, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Magoffin County Pioneer Village and Museum: FloNight (Sydney Poore) and Russell Poore, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about West Van Lear
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of West Van Lear
About 9 of every 100 West Van Lear residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
100% of working residents leave West Van Lear for work
Where West Van Lear’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About West Van Lear
Unincorporated community in Kentucky, United States
West Van Lear is an unincorporated community in Johnson County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, West Van Lear had a population of 768. Even though it is unincorporated, it has a post office and its own ZIP code (41268). It has a small grocery store, a volunteer fire department, and a community center. West Van Lear's post office was established on April 29, 1912, with James H. Price as postmaster.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 417 ft
- ZIP code
- 41268
Questions about West Van Lear
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is West Van Lear, KY expensive?
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.