Census-designated place · Livingston County, Kentucky

Ledbetter, Kentucky

Ledbetter is a census-designated place in Livingston County, Kentucky, part of the Paducah, KY-IL metro area. It has 1,785 residents. Ledbetter, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 25 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,678 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #146 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on pharmacies (high), time spent in the emergency room (low) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on dentists (low), preventable hospital stays (high) and bachelor's degree or higher (low).

25Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,678 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #146 of 243 in KY
Population: 1,785 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 259.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2144434

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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#3,156/15,637
Economy29#11,127/15,631
Housing87#1,925/14,977
Health14#13,454/15,609
Healthcare22#12,163/15,650
Environment17#12,857/15,453
Education8#14,398/15,649
Infrastructure17#13,035/15,650
Community41#9,158/15,651
Leisure & amenities46#8,393/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Pharmacies · high3.4 /10k
98/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLivingston County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low106 min
94/100Kentucky 153 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLivingston County value
Property crime rate · low364 /100k
94/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLivingston County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.298
94/100Kentucky 0.477United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Kentucky 5.5 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLivingston County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.0×
91/100Kentucky 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Weaknesses

Dentists · low11 /100k
1/100Kentucky 67 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLivingston County value
Preventable hospital stays · high5,179 /100k
1/100Kentucky 3,415 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLivingston County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low7.2%
4/100Kentucky 27.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Kentucky 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLivingston County value
Broadband subscriptions · low80.5%
5/100Kentucky 88.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Primary care shortage · high18.0
5/100Kentucky 10.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLivingston County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 79.6% (2020-2024)
+80 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
7.0% (2015-2019) → 52.3% (2020-2024)
+45 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
19.7% (2016-2020) → 43.3% (2020-2024)
+24 pts4 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.6% → 30.6%
Poverty rateWorsening
9.9% (2015-2019) → 27.7% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsWorsening
92.5% (2015-2019) → 80.5% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
94.5% (2015-2019) → 86.6% (2020-2024)
−7.9 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, Ledbetter, Kentucky improved on 0 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 7 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Poverty+18 points9.9% → 27.7%
Broadband−12 points92.5% → 80.5%

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Ledbetter, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.4 min2015-2019	25.2 min2020-2024	+5.8 min	Within the margin of error	8%
Broadband subscriptions	92.5%2015-2019	80.5%2020-2024	−12 points	Declined	0%
Effective property tax rate	0.70%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	9%
High school diploma or higher	94.5%2015-2019	86.6%2020-2024	−7.9 points	Within the margin of error	3%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	72%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3122015-2019	0.2982020-2024	−0.014	Within the margin of error	63%
Median household income	$58,4252015-2019	$59,8992020-2024	+2.5%	Within the margin of error	9%
Poverty rate	9.9%2015-2019	27.7%2020-2024	+18 points	Declined	1%
Rent-burdened households	0.0%2015-2019	79.6%2020-2024	+80 points	Within the margin of error	0%

“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 Ledbetter, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ledbetter, 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, Ledbetter, Kentucky itself moved −36.7 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,785 residents (±340)

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

631 households (±130)

Ledbetter, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k12%†75
$25k–50k28%†176
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

631 households (±130)

Ledbetter, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own75%474
Rent25%†157

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−17.5 points).

† 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

765 workers (±180)

Ledbetter, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone79%605
Carpool11%†83
Public transit1.0%†8

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 Paducah, KY-IL

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 Livingston County, the county holding most of Ledbetter's residents.

Livingston County has 136 employer establishments, 152 for every 10,000 residents (0.61× the US rate of 248; 0.73× Kentucky's), with 1,823 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,164. The Census Bureau also counts 551 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 136; 551 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 152; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 1,823
Average annual pay: $54,164; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	12	13.5	2.43×More than typical	24	$17,458	—
Specialty trade contractors	9	10.1	0.65×Too few to compare	19	$56,211	60
Gasoline stations	7	7.8	2.42×Too few to compare	51	$30,451	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	6	6.7	1.00×Too few to compare	26	$16,269	56
Ambulatory health care services	5	5.6	0.27×Too few to compare	34	$60,088	15
Construction of buildings	5	5.6	0.74×Too few to compare	27	$20,296	30
General merchandise stores	5	5.6	3.17×Too few to compare	23	$26,609	4
Lessors of real estate	5	5.6	0.46×Too few to compare	24	$43,000	40
Traveler accommodation	5	5.6	3.11×Too few to compare	24	$33,958	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	4	4.5	0.89×Too few to compare	13	$33,154	7
Landscaping services	4	4.5	1.28×Too few to compare	16	$13,063	19
Restaurants and other eating places	4	4.5	0.24×Too few to compare	233	$26,944	—

Rank places for an industry Open Livingston County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 8,919 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 $19.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ledbetter, Kentucky: $10.70 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $19.1K
Per resident: $10.70; 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

Department of the Army$19.1K100%

Top recipients

GRACE CONTRACTING LLC$19.1K100%

Spending by fiscal year

385.2KFY2022
13.3KFY2023
19.1KFY2026

What was bought

Construction & real property$19.1K100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Utility system construction · 2371$19.1K100%

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

Ledbetter, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Livingston County, KY ($11.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Livingston 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.

Ledbetter, 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.

Livingston County36100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Paducah, KY-IL53

Other cities and towns in Livingston 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/2144434

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends