City · Washington County, Kentucky

Springfield, Kentucky

Springfield is a city in Washington County, Kentucky. It has 2,899 residents. Springfield, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 26 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,535 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #140 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on pharmacies (high), property crime rate (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on access to exercise opportunities (low), gyms and fitness centers (low) and restaurants and bars (low).

26Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,535 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #140 of 243 in KY
Population: 2,899 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 623.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2172660

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety59#6,420/15,637
Economy18#12,752/15,631
Housing75#3,725/14,977
Health16#13,040/15,609
Healthcare29#11,079/15,650
Environment64#5,606/15,453
Education8#14,474/15,649
Infrastructure31#10,858/15,650
Community49#7,917/15,651
Leisure & amenities8#14,357/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Springfield, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Washington 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 · high4.0 /10k
99/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWashington County value
Property crime rate · low398 /100k
93/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationWashington County value
Average commute time · low17.3 min
91/100Kentucky 24.0 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Social associations · high14.7 /10k
90/100Kentucky 10.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value
Public libraries · high1.6 /10k
88/100Kentucky 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesWashington County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Kentucky 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value

Weaknesses

Access to exercise opportunities · low18.2%
1/100Kentucky 69.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Kentucky 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWashington County value
Restaurants and bars · low4.0 /10k
5/100Kentucky 8.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWashington County value
Job growth · low-3.2%
6/100Kentucky -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataWashington County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high100 mi
10/100Kentucky 78 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWashington County value
Traffic deaths · high26.3 /100k
11/100Kentucky 17.0 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataWashington County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
36.0% (2015-2019) → 9.0% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
26.9% (2015-2019) → 10.3% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
5.3 /1k (2021) → 1.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−74%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.3% (2015-2019) → 87.1% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
35.5% (2015-2019) → 45.9% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
21.1% (2015-2019) → 29.3% (2020-2024)
+8.2 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, Springfield, Kentucky improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved2

Poverty−17 points26.9% → 10.3%
Broadband+15 points72.3% → 87.1%

Declined1

Rent / income+8.2 points21.1% → 29.3%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Springfield, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.7 min2015-2019	17.3 min2020-2024	−1.4 min	Within the margin of error	64%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.9%2015-2019	14.9%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Broadband subscriptions	72.3%2015-2019	87.1%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	79%
Effective property tax rate	0.75%2015-2019	0.72%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	20%
High school diploma or higher	85.4%2015-2019	90.3%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Home price to income ratio	3.0×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	47%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4392015-2019	0.4782020-2024	+0.040	Within the margin of error	21%
Median household income	$40,9152015-2019	$48,7502020-2024	+19%	Within the margin of error	31%
Poverty rate	26.9%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	−17 points	Improved	98%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	21.1%2015-2019	29.3%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Declined	12%
Rent-burdened households	35.5%2015-2019	45.9%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	23%

“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 Springfield, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Springfield, 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, Springfield, Kentucky itself moved −9.4 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

2,899 residents (±25)

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

1,338 households (±146)

Springfield, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k20%†269
$25k–50k31%†419
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,338 households (±146)

Springfield, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own58%771
Rent42%567

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+11.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,410 workers (±172)

Springfield, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone75%1,053
Carpool13%†183
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 Washington County, the county holding most of Springfield's residents.

Washington County has 251 employer establishments, 205 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.99× Kentucky's), with 3,390 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,676. The Census Bureau also counts 946 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 251; 946 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 205; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 3,390
Average annual pay: $47,676; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	23	18.8	1.21×About typical	167	$62,880	128
Truck transportation	19	15.5	3.06×More than typical	67	$61,388	40
Ambulatory health care services	18	14.7	0.70×Fewer than typical	603	$40,104	46
Religious organizations	18	14.7	2.65×More than typical	82	$20,744	—
Restaurants and other eating places	13	10.6	0.58×Fewer than typical	184	$16,288	3
Building equipment contractors	12	9.8	1.63×More than typical	61	$62,344	21
Automotive repair and maintenance	9	7.3	1.46×Too few to compare	32	$41,094	19
Limited-service restaurants	9	7.3	0.91×Too few to compare	136	$15,404	—
Individual and family services	8	6.5	2.33×Too few to compare	55	$33,473	14
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	8	6.5	1.98×Too few to compare	18	$43,278	3
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	7	5.7	3.27×Too few to compare	28	$28,429	—
Gasoline stations	7	5.7	1.76×Too few to compare	59	$22,695	—

Rank places for an industry Open Washington County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 12,266 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 Springfield, 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

155.6FY2017
894.6FY2021
0FY2022

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

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

See federal money in Washington 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.

Springfield, 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.

Washington County39100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Washington 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/2172660

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends