City · Fulton County, Kentucky

Hickman, Kentucky

Hickman is a city in Fulton County, Kentucky. It has 2,115 residents. Hickman, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,964 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #234 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on grocery stores (high), firearm deaths (low) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on primary care shortage (high), voter turnout (low) and math scores (low).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,964 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #234 of 243 in KY
Population: 2,115 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 595.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2136298

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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.

Safety74#4,135/15,637
Economy2#15,392/15,631
Housing92#1,267/14,977
Health5#14,876/15,609
Healthcare1#15,450/15,650
Environment12#13,644/15,453
Education7#14,611/15,649
Infrastructure11#13,887/15,650
Community11#13,987/15,651
Leisure & amenities43#8,909/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hickman, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Fulton 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

Grocery stores · high4.8 /10k
99/100Kentucky 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFulton County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Kentucky 16.9 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionFulton County value
Public libraries · high3.2 /10k
96/100Kentucky 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesFulton County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Kentucky 5.5 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataFulton County value
Job growth · high2.3%
90/100Kentucky -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataFulton County value
Violent crime rate · low87 /100k
89/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationFulton County value

Weaknesses

Primary care shortage · high21.0
1/100Kentucky 10.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationFulton County value
Voter turnout · low43.3%
1/100Kentucky 61.3%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionFulton County value
Math scores · low2.29
1/100Kentucky 3.00United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFulton County value
Reading scores · low2.49
2/100Kentucky 3.05United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFulton County value
Mental health providers · low32 /100k
2/100Kentucky 329 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFulton County value
Life expectancy · low70.0 yrs
3/100Kentucky 73.6 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFulton County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
59.8% (2015-2019) → 79.6% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
7.0% (2015-2019) → 15.8% (2020-2024)
+8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
2.2% (2015-2019) → 11.0% (2020-2024)
+8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Median household incomeImproving
$24,063 (2015-2019) → $34,653 (2020-2024)
+44%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
74.7% (2015-2019) → 79.8% (2020-2024)
+5.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
52.2% (2015-2019) → 56.4% (2020-2024)
+4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Hickman, Kentucky improved on 2 of 13 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.

Improved2

Broadband+20 points59.8% → 79.6%
Bachelor's++8.8 points7.0% → 15.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Hickman, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.5 min2015-2019	16.5 min2020-2024	−1.9 min	Within the margin of error	70%
Bachelor's degree or higher	7.0%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	+8.8 points	Improved	87%
Broadband subscriptions	59.8%2015-2019	79.6%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Child poverty rate	42.3%2015-2019	46.1%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Effective property tax rate	0.54%2015-2019	0.62%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
High school diploma or higher	74.7%2015-2019	79.8%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	80%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4852015-2019	0.5292020-2024	+0.043	Within the margin of error	19%
Median household income	$24,0632015-2019	$34,6532020-2024	+44%	Within the margin of error	79%
Poverty rate	33.9%2015-2019	31.6%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	31.2%2015-2019	32.7%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Rent-burdened households	52.2%2015-2019	56.4%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	40%

“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 Hickman, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hickman, 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, Hickman, Kentucky itself moved +0.9 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

2,115 residents (±292)

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

819 households (±111)

Hickman, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k46%†374
$25k–50k30%†242
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

819 households (±111)

Hickman, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own51%421
Rent49%398

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

574 workers (±155)

Hickman, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone85%490
Carpool1.6%†9
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 Fulton County, the county holding most of Hickman's residents.

Fulton County has 105 employer establishments, 165 for every 10,000 residents (0.67× the US rate of 248; 0.80× Kentucky's), with 1,461 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,326. The Census Bureau also counts 301 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 105; 301 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 165; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 1,461
Average annual pay: $47,326; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	11	17.3	0.83×About typical	40	$84,100	16
Restaurants and other eating places	10	15.7	0.86×About typical	126	$16,992	4
Home health care services	6	9.4	7.80×Too few to compare	34	$81,382	10
Religious organizations	6	9.4	1.70×Too few to compare	19	$13,526	—
Banks and credit unions	5	7.9	2.44×Too few to compare	54	$52,241	—
Gasoline stations	5	7.9	2.43×Too few to compare	26	$27,231	—
Limited-service restaurants	5	7.9	0.98×Too few to compare	86	$16,233	3
Full-service restaurants	4	6.3	0.82×Too few to compare	40	$18,425	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	3	4.7	1.07×Too few to compare	12	$30,500	8
Specialty trade contractors	3	4.7	0.30×Too few to compare	44	$46,227	26
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Advertising, public relations and related services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—

Rank places for an industry Open Fulton County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 6,355 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 $699 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hickman, Kentucky: $0.33 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $699; −96% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.33; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

U.S. Coast Guard$699100%

Top recipients

SKILLED WORKFORCE CONTRACTORS, LLC$699100%
MIDWEST CONSTRUCTION CO$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

4.9KFY2017
432.9FY2018
2.6KFY2019
284.7FY2020
237.9KFY2021
0FY2022
4.5KFY2023
30.4KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$699100%

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

Hickman, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Fulton County, KY ($21.7K in FY2026), never added to them: 3.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Fulton 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.

Hickman, 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.

Fulton County9100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Fulton 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
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/2136298

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends