Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety63#5,713/15,637
Economy32#10,587/15,631
Housing65#5,203/14,977
Health32#10,660/15,609
Healthcare29#11,040/15,650
Environment48#7,986/15,453
Education25#11,665/15,649
Infrastructure33#10,412/15,650
Community42#9,056/15,651
Leisure & amenities18#12,771/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Bardstown, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Nelson County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Violent crime rate · low46 /100k
98/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationNelson County value
Job growth · high3.4%
95/100Kentucky -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataNelson County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Kentucky 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNelson County value
Average commute time · low20.5 min
83/100Kentucky 24.0 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Mammography screening · high52.0%
81/100Kentucky 45.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNelson County value
Food environment index · high8.7
78/100Kentucky 6.7United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNelson County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an Amtrak station · high102 mi
9/100Kentucky 78 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauNelson County value
Comfortable days · low23.3%
10/100Kentucky 23.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationNelson County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low2.0 /10k
12/100Kentucky 4.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNelson County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.471
17/100Kentucky 0.477United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Median household income · low$51,381
17/100Kentucky $64,481United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Suicide rate · high21.0 /100k
18/100Kentucky 18.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataNelson County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
13,094 (2015-2019) → 13,804 (2020-2024)
+5.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
23.5% (2015-2019) → 52.7% (2020-2024)
+29 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 4.0× (2020-2024)
+74%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
20.6% (2015-2019) → 31.4% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
12.1% (2015-2019) → 21.4% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
18.3% (2015-2019) → 26.7% (2020-2024)
+8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Bardstown, Kentucky improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Bachelor's++8.3 points18.3% → 26.7%
Broadband+7.1 points81.4% → 88.4%

Declined4

Rent burden+29 points23.5% → 52.7%
Price / income+1.7×2.3× → 4.0×
Rent / income+11 points20.6% → 31.4%
Uninsured+5.4 points5.7% → 11.1%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Bardstown, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.8 min2015-2019	20.5 min2020-2024	−2.3 min	Within the margin of error	74%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.3%2015-2019	26.7%2020-2024	+8.3 points	Improved	85%
Broadband subscriptions	81.4%2015-2019	88.4%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Improved	44%
Child poverty rate	12.1%2015-2019	21.4%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Effective property tax rate	1.12%2015-2019	0.80%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	77%
High school diploma or higher	88.3%2015-2019	88.5%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	4.0×2020-2024	+1.7×	Declined	7%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5322015-2019	0.4712020-2024	−0.061	Within the margin of error	88%
Median household income	$54,3282015-2019	$51,3812020-2024	−5.4%	Within the margin of error	5%
Poverty rate	11.2%2015-2019	14.7%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	20.6%2015-2019	31.4%2020-2024	+11 points	Declined	8%
Rent-burdened households	23.5%2015-2019	52.7%2020-2024	+29 points	Declined	3%
Unemployment rate	5.9%2015-2019	4.0%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.7%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Declined	9%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Bardstown, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bardstown, Kentucky in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Bardstown, Kentucky itself moved −14.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

13,804 residents (±26)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69
50–59†
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19†
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 20–29 women (−2.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

13,804 residents (±26)

Bardstown, Kentucky
Kentucky share

White78%10,773
Black14%1,899
Hispanic or Latino6.0%829
Asian0.3%†38
American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%†3
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races1.9%†262

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Hispanic or Latino (+3.1 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

9,316 residents (±373)

Bardstown, Kentucky
Kentucky share

No high school diploma11%1,070
High school or GED37%3,461
Some college18%1,678
Associate degree6.7%623
Bachelor's degree15%1,384
Graduate degree12%1,100

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Some college (−8.2 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

5,677 households (±309)

Bardstown, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k24%1,341
$25k–50k24%1,387
$50k–75k20%1,113
$75k–100k12%†685
$100k–150k9.6%545
$150k–200k5.5%†311
$200k or more5.2%†295

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $50k–75k (−9.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

5,677 households (±309)

Bardstown, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own61%3,470
Rent39%2,207

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

1,994 households (±288)

Bardstown, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $75026%†522
$750–1,00026%†513
$1,000–1,50044%†872

Home values

3,470 homes (±354)

Bardstown, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $150k30%1,026
$150k–250k32%1,107
$250k–400k25%862

Age of homes

5,820 homes (±312)

Bardstown, Kentucky
Kentucky share

2010 or later12%†688
2000–200913%732
1980–199933%1,907

Size of homes

5,820 homes (±312)

Bardstown, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Studio0.8%†49
1 bedroom5.3%†308
2 bedrooms27%1,543

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

6,372 workers (±434)

Bardstown, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone78%4,995
Carpool12%748
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.4%†91
Bike0.0%0
Work from home4.1%†259
Other4.4%†279

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−7.8 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

6,113 workers (±437)

Bardstown, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under 15 min51%3,110
15–29 min20%1,251
30–44 min14%†842

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Nelson County, the county holding most of Bardstown's residents.

Nelson County has 1,023 employer establishments, 214 for every 10,000 residents (0.86× the US rate of 248; 1.03× Kentucky's), with 17,214 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,838. The Census Bureau also counts 3,484 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,023; 3,484 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 214; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 17,214
Average annual pay: $53,838; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Nelson County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	99	20.7	1.33×More than typical	1,288	$58,237	423
Ambulatory health care services	98	20.5	0.98×About typical	980	$49,702	131
Restaurants and other eating places	59	12.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	1,276	$20,424	13
Building equipment contractors	36	7.5	1.25×About typical	922	$60,227	76
Services to buildings and dwellings	35	7.3	1.08×About typical	101	$36,337	230
Truck transportation	35	7.3	1.44×More than typical	541	$59,497	84
Construction of buildings	34	7.1	0.94×About typical	392	$72,865	134
Religious organizations	34	7.1	1.28×More than typical	303	$30,835	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	31	6.5	1.47×More than typical	86	$41,116	60
Limited-service restaurants	31	6.5	0.81×About typical	593	$18,307	8
Gasoline stations	30	6.3	1.93×More than typical	274	$25,712	—
Offices of physicians	30	6.3	0.97×About typical	488	$51,654	13

Rank places for an industry Open Nelson County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 47,909 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Bardstown, Kentucky: $73.27 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1M; −4.2% vs FY2025
Per resident: $73.27; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 28%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$744.6K74%
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$196.4K19%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$57.3K5.7%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$23.2K2.3%
U.S. Secret Service$16.1K1.6%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$15.6K1.5%
Defense Logistics Agency$3410.0%

Top recipients

ARMAG CORP$1M100%
TIDEWATER, INC.$6,8950.7%
FERGUSON FIRE PROTECTION, LLC$3410.0%
SECURITYHUNTER, INC.$85.320.0%
MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC.$29.510.0%
SENECA FEDERAL SOLUTIONS, LLC

Spending by fiscal year

663.4KFY2017
1.1MFY2018
720.5KFY2019
524.2KFY2020
381.9KFY2021
547.9KFY2022
824.5KFY2023
320.3K

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural and structural metals manufacturing · 3323$819.3K81%
Office furniture (including fixtures) manufacturing · 3372$219.6K22%
Other textile product mills · 3149$3410.0%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$85.320.0%
Building material and supplies dealers · 4441$29.510.0%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Bardstown, Kentucky, so they do not add up across cities.

Bardstown, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Nelson County, KY ($12.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 8.3% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Bardstown is mostly in Nelson County.

See federal money in Nelson County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Bardstown, Kentucky is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Nelson County60100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN53

Other cities and towns in Nelson County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2103628

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends