City · Meade County, Kentucky

Muldraugh, Kentucky

Muldraugh is a city in Meade County, Kentucky, part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro area. It has 1,127 residents. Muldraugh, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 18 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,792 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #189 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), violent crime rate (low) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on bachelor's degree or higher (low), primary care physicians (low) and distance to an emergency room (high).

18Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,792 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #189 of 243 in KY
Population: 1,127 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 2,152.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 2154480

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.

Safety63#5,713/15,637
Economy19#12,733/15,631
Housing92#1,154/14,977
Health20#12,497/15,609
Healthcare8#14,468/15,650
Environment21#12,176/15,453
Education40#9,382/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,301/15,650
Community7#14,548/15,651
Leisure & amenities16#13,133/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Home price to income ratio · low1.3×
99/100Kentucky 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Violent crime rate · low53 /100k
97/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMeade County value
Property crime rate · low297 /100k
97/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMeade County value
Math scores · high3.46
94/100Kentucky 3.00United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeade County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.47%
90/100Kentucky 0.75%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Reading scores · high3.28
86/100Kentucky 3.05United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeade County value

Weaknesses

Bachelor's degree or higher · low6.7%
4/100Kentucky 27.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Primary care physicians · low20 /100k
5/100Kentucky 63 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeade County value
Distance to an emergency room · high16.1 mi
6/100Kentucky 6.4 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMeade County value
Dentists · low23 /100k
6/100Kentucky 67 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeade County value
Adult smoking · high21.6%
7/100Kentucky 17.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Distance to an Amtrak station · high119 mi
7/100Kentucky 78 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMeade County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,040 (2015-2019) → 1,127 (2020-2024)
+8.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.1% (2015-2019) → 86.6% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$34,583 (2015-2019) → $60,508 (2020-2024)
+75%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateImproving
15.5% (2015-2019) → 5.7% (2020-2024)
−9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.397 (2015-2019) → 0.526 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Home price to income ratioImproving
1.8× (2015-2019) → 1.3× (2020-2024)
−28%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Muldraugh, Kentucky improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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

Household income+75%$34,583 → $60,508
Broadband+21 points65.1% → 86.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Muldraugh, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.4 min2015-2019	37.7 min2020-2024	+5.3 min	Within the margin of error	9%
Broadband subscriptions	65.1%2015-2019	86.6%2020-2024	+21 points	Improved	92%
Child poverty rate	48.8%2015-2019	47.2%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	54%
High school diploma or higher	85.4%2015-2019	86.4%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	1.3×2020-2024	−0.5×	Within the margin of error	93%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3972015-2019	0.5262020-2024	+0.129	Within the margin of error	2%
Median household income	$34,5832015-2019	$60,5082020-2024	+75%	Improved	96%
Poverty rate	25.8%2015-2019	22.5%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.0%2015-2019	25.7%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent-burdened households	43.4%2015-2019	43.4%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.3%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%

“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 Muldraugh, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Muldraugh, 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, Muldraugh, Kentucky itself moved −5 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

1,127 residents (±195)

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

469 households (±92)

Muldraugh, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k19%†90
$25k–50k26%†123
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

469 households (±92)

Muldraugh, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own51%†238
Rent49%231

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Rent (−14.0 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

518 workers (±133)

Muldraugh, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone57%293
Carpool8.9%†46
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 Louisville/Jefferson County, 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 Meade County, the county holding most of Muldraugh's residents.

Meade County has 362 employer establishments, 120 for every 10,000 residents (0.48× the US rate of 248; 0.58× Kentucky's), with 3,633 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,468. The Census Bureau also counts 1,799 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 362; 1,799 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 120; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 3,633
Average annual pay: $43,468; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	37	12.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	507	$59,112	215
Restaurants and other eating places	32	10.6	0.58×Fewer than typical	549	$17,248	9
Ambulatory health care services	24	7.9	0.38×Fewer than typical	189	$52,619	48
Lessors of real estate	19	6.3	0.51×Fewer than typical	39	$34,615	193
Building equipment contractors	18	6	0.99×About typical	308	$54,549	36
Limited-service restaurants	15	5	0.62×Fewer than typical	388	$17,536	3
Religious organizations	15	5	0.90×About typical	85	$15,953	—
Gasoline stations	14	4.6	1.43×More than typical	96	$21,354	—
Full-service restaurants	13	4.3	0.56×Fewer than typical	151	$16,623	3
Offices of other health practitioners	12	4	0.65×Fewer than typical	49	$45,469	24
General merchandise stores	11	3.6	2.06×More than typical	96	$21,323	13
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	11	3.6	1.10×About typical	287	$56,028	21

Rank places for an industry Open Meade County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 30,189 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 Muldraugh, Kentucky: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
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

1.1KFY2021
-1.1KFY2022

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

Muldraugh, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Meade County, KY and Hardin County, KY ($241.7M 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: Muldraugh is mostly in Meade County.

See federal money in Meade 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.

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

House

Brett GuthrieR-KY-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 0.6%

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.

Meade County46100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN53

Other cities and towns in Meade 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/2154480

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends