City · Lawrence County, Kentucky

Louisa, Kentucky

Louisa is a city in Lawrence County, Kentucky, part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area. It has 2,580 residents. Louisa, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 17 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,955 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #196 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on mental health providers (high), violent crime rate (low) and homicide rate (low). It ranks worst on job growth (low), dental care shortage (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).

17Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,955 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #196 of 243 in KY
Population: 2,580 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,150.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2147854

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety85#2,293/15,637
Economy1#15,443/15,631
Housing76#3,579/14,977
Health8#14,431/15,609
Healthcare19#12,611/15,650
Environment37#9,717/15,453
Education48#8,184/15,649
Infrastructure11#13,878/15,650
Community1#15,481/15,651
Leisure & amenities12#13,722/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Mental health providers · high1,646 /100k
100/100Kentucky 329 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value
Violent crime rate · low59 /100k
95/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLawrence County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Kentucky 5.5 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLawrence County value
Property crime rate · low394 /100k
93/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLawrence County value
Pharmacies · high2.5 /10k
91/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLawrence County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Kentucky 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-19.6%
0/100Kentucky -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLawrence County value
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Kentucky 10.9United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLawrence County value
Preventable hospital stays · high5,245 /100k
1/100Kentucky 3,415 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low27.7%
2/100Kentucky 69.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value
Life expectancy · low70.5 yrs
3/100Kentucky 73.6 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value
Average weekly wage · low$863
3/100Kentucky $1,202United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLawrence County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.3% (2015-2019) → 81.4% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
44.7% (2015-2019) → 26.6% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
High school diploma or higherImproving
73.0% (2015-2019) → 88.1% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Poverty rateImproving
31.9% (2015-2019) → 22.3% (2020-2024)
−9.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$27,479 (2015-2019) → $40,000 (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
14.7% (2015-2019) → 23.0% (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, Louisa, Kentucky improved on 1 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 14 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.

Improved1

Broadband+18 points63.3% → 81.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Louisa, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.2 min2015-2019	19.2 min2020-2024	−2.0 min	Within the margin of error	71%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.7%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	+8.3 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Broadband subscriptions	63.3%2015-2019	81.4%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	87%
Child poverty rate	44.7%2015-2019	26.6%2020-2024	−18 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Effective property tax rate	0.79%2015-2019	0.80%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	14%
High school diploma or higher	73.0%2015-2019	88.1%2020-2024	+15 points	Within the margin of error	99%
Home price to income ratio	5.0×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	−2.0×	Within the margin of error	99%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5562015-2019	0.5562020-2024	+0.000	Within the margin of error	51%
Median household income	$27,4792015-2019	$40,0002020-2024	+46%	Within the margin of error	81%
Poverty rate	31.9%2015-2019	22.3%2020-2024	−9.6 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	29.3%2015-2019	30.3%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Rent-burdened households	47.2%2015-2019	51.1%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Unemployment rate	7.8%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.6%2015-2019	8.5%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	26%

“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 Louisa, Kentucky five years ago that improved

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

2,580 residents (±23)

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

1,000 households (±134)

Louisa, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k30%†297
$25k–50k25%†250
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,000 households (±134)

Louisa, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own58%582
Rent42%418

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

849 workers (±182)

Louisa, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone87%740
Carpool4.5%†38
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 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH

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 Lawrence County, the county holding most of Louisa's residents.

Lawrence County has 207 employer establishments, 130 for every 10,000 residents (0.52× the US rate of 248; 0.62× Kentucky's), with 2,950 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,647. The Census Bureau also counts 796 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 207; 796 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 130; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 2,950
Average annual pay: $43,647; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	16	10	0.48×Fewer than typical	151	$80,119	21
Restaurants and other eating places	15	9.4	0.51×Fewer than typical	371	$17,264	3
Specialty trade contractors	11	6.9	0.44×Fewer than typical	40	$47,125	78
Gasoline stations	10	6.3	1.93×More than typical	77	$14,701	—
General merchandise stores	10	6.3	3.54×More than typical	252	$29,325	10
Religious organizations	10	6.3	1.13×About typical	26	$14,692	—
Limited-service restaurants	9	5.6	0.70×Too few to compare	295	$16,386	—
Other specialty trade contractors	8	5	1.99×Too few to compare	31	$54,871	30
Automotive repair and maintenance	6	3.8	0.75×Too few to compare	60	$36,067	23
Offices of physicians	6	3.8	0.58×Too few to compare	89	$100,236	4
Outpatient care centers	6	3.8	2.04×Too few to compare	50	$44,500	—
Truck transportation	6	3.8	0.74×Too few to compare	32	$31,813	19

Rank places for an industry Open Lawrence County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 15,980 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Lawrence 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.

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

House

Harold RogersR-KY-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.8%

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.

Lawrence County16100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH33

Other cities and towns in Lawrence County

Largest first.

Blaine80

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/2147854

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends