City · Grant County, Kentucky

Dry Ridge, Kentucky

Dry Ridge is a city in Grant County, Kentucky, part of the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro area. It has 2,441 residents. Dry Ridge, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 24 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,896 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #153 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on violent crime rate (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on high school diploma or higher (low), restaurants and bars (low) and grocery stores (low).

24Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,896 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #153 of 243 in KY
Population: 2,441 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 472.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 2122582

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety80#3,183/15,637
Economy12#13,807/15,631
Housing79#3,086/14,977
Health9#14,204/15,609
Healthcare21#12,435/15,650
Environment78#3,453/15,453
Education3#15,131/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,430/15,650
Community21#12,347/15,651
Leisure & amenities23#12,045/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Dry Ridge, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Grant 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 · low31 /100k
99/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationGrant County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low102 min
96/100Kentucky 153 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesGrant County value
Property crime rate · low379 /100k
94/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationGrant County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Kentucky 5.5 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataGrant County value
Drought exposure · low2%
90/100Kentucky 21%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAGrant County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Kentucky 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGrant County value

Weaknesses

High school diploma or higher · low77.8%
2/100Kentucky 88.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Restaurants and bars · low3.8 /10k
4/100Kentucky 8.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGrant County value
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
6/100Kentucky 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGrant County value
Adult smoking · high22.1%
6/100Kentucky 17.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Comfortable days · low23.0%
7/100Kentucky 23.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationGrant County value
Injury deaths · high135 /100k
8/100Kentucky 115 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGrant County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,161 (2015-2019) → 2,441 (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
61.0% (2015-2019) → 29.1% (2020-2024)
−32 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$26,875 (2015-2019) → $55,995 (2020-2024)
+108%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
39.4% (2015-2019) → 21.9% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.2% (2015-2019) → 75.3% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
86.6% (2015-2019) → 77.8% (2020-2024)
−8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Dry Ridge, Kentucky improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved3

Household income+108%$26,875 → $55,995
Child poverty−32 points61.0% → 29.1%
Poverty−17 points39.4% → 21.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Dry Ridge, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	28.6 min2015-2019	21.7 min2020-2024	−6.9 min	Within the margin of error	95%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.9%2015-2019	14.5%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Broadband subscriptions	64.2%2015-2019	75.3%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Child poverty rate	61.0%2015-2019	29.1%2020-2024	−32 points	Improved	98%
Effective property tax rate	0.83%2015-2019	0.83%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	16%
High school diploma or higher	86.6%2015-2019	77.8%2020-2024	−8.8 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Home price to income ratio	5.5×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	−1.6×	Within the margin of error	99%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4932015-2019	0.4782020-2024	−0.015	Within the margin of error	64%
Median household income	$26,8752015-2019	$55,9952020-2024	+108%	Improved	99%
Poverty rate	39.4%2015-2019	21.9%2020-2024	−17 points	Improved	98%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.4%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Rent-burdened households	43.9%2015-2019	42.1%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.0%2015-2019	9.7%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	15%

“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 Dry Ridge, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dry Ridge, 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, Dry Ridge, Kentucky itself moved +8.1 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

2,441 residents (±497)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

1,024 households (±193)

Dry Ridge, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k30%†307
$25k–50k16%†168
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,024 households (±193)

Dry Ridge, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own42%†433
Rent58%591

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

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,142 workers (±261)

Dry Ridge, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone82%936
Carpool4.6%†52
Public transit0.0%0

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 Cincinnati, OH-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 Grant County, the county holding most of Dry Ridge's residents.

Grant County has 386 employer establishments, 151 for every 10,000 residents (0.61× the US rate of 248; 0.73× Kentucky's), with 5,117 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,330. The Census Bureau also counts 1,661 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 386; 1,661 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 151; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 5,117
Average annual pay: $44,330; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	38	14.8	0.81×About typical	819	$17,857	8
Specialty trade contractors	37	14.4	0.93×About typical	163	$75,675	218
Limited-service restaurants	26	10.1	1.27×More than typical	535	$15,849	—
Ambulatory health care services	25	9.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	209	$86,488	30
Religious organizations	22	8.6	1.55×More than typical	120	$20,742	—
Gasoline stations	18	7	2.17×More than typical	156	$27,167	—
Lessors of real estate	16	6.2	0.51×Fewer than typical	26	$36,269	127
Truck transportation	16	6.2	1.23×About typical	43	$53,070	85
Building equipment contractors	15	5.9	0.97×About typical	117	$84,265	35
Automotive repair and maintenance	13	5.1	1.01×About typical	45	$49,422	45
Other specialty trade contractors	13	5.1	2.02×More than typical	17	$65,235	94
Construction of buildings	12	4.7	0.62×Fewer than typical	37	$36,568	89

Rank places for an industry Open Grant County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 25,626 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 $3,138 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Dry Ridge, Kentucky: $1.29 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3,138; +779% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.29; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 47%; 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 Army$3,138100%

Top recipients

CORNERSTONE INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LLC$3,138100%

Spending by fiscal year

55.5FY2017
425.5FY2018
4.8KFY2022
2KFY2023
2KFY2024
356.9FY2025
3.1KFY2026

What was bought

Other equipment & supplies

Top industries (NAICS)

Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing · 3359$3,138100%

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 Dry Ridge, Kentucky, so they do not add up across cities.

Dry Ridge, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Grant County, KY ($225.1K in FY2026), never added to them: 1.4% of that total.

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

See federal money in Grant 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.

Dry Ridge, Kentucky is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Thomas MassieR-KY-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 85%Missed 5.9%

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.

Grant County45100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN69

Other cities and towns in Grant 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/2122582

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends