City · Lyon County, Kentucky

Eddyville, Kentucky

Eddyville is a city in Lyon County, Kentucky. It has 2,897 residents. Eddyville, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 36 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,953 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #93 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on violent crime rate (low), reading scores (high) and math scores (high). It ranks worst on traffic deaths (high), dentists (low) and primary care physicians (low).

36Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,953 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #93 of 243 in KY
Population: 2,897 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 418.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 2123824

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#3,199/15,637
Economy32#10,706/15,631
Housing89#1,702/14,977
Health37#9,843/15,609
Healthcare13#13,581/15,650
Environment14#13,276/15,453
Education53#7,412/15,649
Infrastructure14#13,420/15,650
Community22#12,281/15,651
Leisure & amenities84#2,573/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Eddyville, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lyon 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 · low0 /100k
100/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureLyon County value
Reading scores · high4.08
100/100Kentucky 3.05United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLyon County value
Math scores · high4.13
100/100Kentucky 3.00United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLyon County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Kentucky 23.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLyon County value
Property crime rate · low318 /100k
96/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureLyon County value
Rent-burdened households · low31.9%
94/100Kentucky 45.4%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Weaknesses

Traffic deaths · high38.2 /100k
3/100Kentucky 17.0 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataLyon County value
Dentists · low22 /100k
5/100Kentucky 67 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLyon County value
Primary care physicians · low22 /100k
6/100Kentucky 63 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLyon County value
Adult smoking · high21.4%
8/100Kentucky 17.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Distance to an airport · high101 mi
10/100Kentucky 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLyon County value
Distance to an emergency room · high13.3 mi
10/100Kentucky 6.4 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLyon County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,548 (2015-2019) → 2,897 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
30.4% (2015-2019) → 6.6% (2020-2024)
−24 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
51.8% (2015-2019) → 31.9% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateImproving
28.1% (2015-2019) → 8.9% (2020-2024)
−19 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.4% (2015-2019) → 81.5% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
36.6% (2015-2019) → 24.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Eddyville, Kentucky improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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

Poverty−19 points28.1% → 8.9%
Household income+63%$34,205 → $55,625
Broadband+18 points63.4% → 81.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Eddyville, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.8 min2015-2019	26.8 min2020-2024	+8.0 min	Within the margin of error	4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.5%2015-2019	12.6%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Broadband subscriptions	63.4%2015-2019	81.5%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	87%
Effective property tax rate	0.99%2015-2019	0.73%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	70%
High school diploma or higher	83.1%2015-2019	85.1%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Home price to income ratio	3.5×2015-2019	3.4×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	83%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4762015-2019	0.4752020-2024	−0.001	Within the margin of error	51%
Median household income	$34,2052015-2019	$55,6252020-2024	+63%	Improved	92%
Poverty rate	28.1%2015-2019	8.9%2020-2024	−19 points	Improved	99%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	36.6%2015-2019	24.0%2020-2024	−13 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Rent-burdened households	51.8%2015-2019	31.9%2020-2024	−20 points	Within the margin of error	94%

“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 Eddyville, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Eddyville, 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, Eddyville, Kentucky itself moved +11.9 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

2,897 residents (±296)

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

928 households (±142)

Eddyville, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k29%†269
$25k–50k20%†183
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

928 households (±142)

Eddyville, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own54%498
Rent46%430

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

916 workers (±169)

Eddyville, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone87%798
Carpool5.3%†49
Public transit0.0%0

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 Lyon County, the county holding most of Eddyville's residents.

Lyon County has 171 employer establishments, 186 for every 10,000 residents (0.75× the US rate of 248; 0.90× Kentucky's), with 1,596 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,858. The Census Bureau also counts 520 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 171; 520 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 186; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 1,596
Average annual pay: $37,858; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	18	19.6	1.27×More than typical	111	$56,162	45
Restaurants and other eating places	17	18.5	1.01×About typical	354	$19,460	4
Ambulatory health care services	12	13.1	0.63×Fewer than typical	95	$70,347	8
Full-service restaurants	11	12	1.56×More than typical	247	$20,024	—
Religious organizations	8	8.7	1.57×Too few to compare	18	$21,778	—
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	6	6.5	2.46×Too few to compare	45	$62,511	5
Limited-service restaurants	6	6.5	0.82×Too few to compare	107	$18,159	3
Other specialty trade contractors	6	6.5	2.60×Too few to compare	57	$62,386	12
Services to buildings and dwellings	6	6.5	0.97×Too few to compare	48	$22,792	47
Traveler accommodation	6	6.5	3.62×Too few to compare	55	$30,291	—
Building equipment contractors	5	5.4	0.91×Too few to compare	25	$46,560	9
Construction of buildings	5	5.4	0.72×Too few to compare	19	$20,105	18

Rank places for an industry Open Lyon County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 9,177 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Eddyville, Kentucky: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

3.3KFY2017
1.3KFY2021
14.5KFY2022
3.1KFY2023
3.3KFY2024
1.4KFY2025

What was bought

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 Eddyville, Kentucky, so they do not add up across cities.

Eddyville, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Lyon County, KY ($1.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Lyon 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.

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

House

James ComerR-KY-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.4%

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.

Lyon County45100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Lyon County

Largest first.

Kuttawa588

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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/2123824

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends