City · Lincoln County, Kentucky

Stanford, Kentucky

Stanford is a city in Lincoln County, Kentucky, part of the Danville, KY metro area. It has 3,643 residents. Stanford, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 22 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,201 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #163 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on restaurants and bars (low), arts, entertainment and recreation (low) and dentists (low).

22Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,201 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #163 of 243 in KY
Population: 3,643 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 760.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2173110

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.

Safety55#7,034/15,637
Economy29#11,097/15,631
Housing96#651/14,977
Health11#13,877/15,609
Healthcare17#12,941/15,650
Environment67#5,038/15,453
Education29#11,140/15,649
Infrastructure9#14,308/15,650
Community13#13,595/15,651
Leisure & amenities2#15,376/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent-burdened households · low33.4%
98/100Kentucky 45.4%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Time spent in the emergency room · low101 min
96/100Kentucky 153 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLincoln County value
Property crime rate · low330 /100k
96/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLincoln County value
Unemployment rate · low1.1%
91/100Kentucky 4.6%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Job growth · high2.2%
90/100Kentucky -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLincoln County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low2.3%
89/100Kentucky 8.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Restaurants and bars · low2.4 /10k
1/100Kentucky 8.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLincoln County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.8 /10k
2/100Kentucky 4.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLincoln County value
Dentists · low16 /100k
3/100Kentucky 67 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Kentucky 14.9United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLincoln County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low40.1%
5/100Kentucky 69.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln County value
Life expectancy · low71.5 yrs
6/100Kentucky 73.6 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
53.5% (2015-2019) → 33.4% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
20.1% (2015-2019) → 2.3% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.6% (2015-2019) → 84.7% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
80.1% (2015-2019) → 90.4% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Poverty rateImproving
21.7% (2015-2019) → 12.0% (2020-2024)
−9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
15.6% (2015-2019) → 7.7% (2020-2024)
−8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Stanford, Kentucky improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved3

Poverty−9.7 points21.7% → 12.0%
Rent burden−20 points53.5% → 33.4%
Broadband+13 points71.6% → 84.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Stanford, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.2 min2015-2019	27.0 min2020-2024	−0.2 min	Within the margin of error	50%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.4%2015-2019	18.4%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Broadband subscriptions	71.6%2015-2019	84.7%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	73%
Effective property tax rate	0.56%2015-2019	0.64%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
High school diploma or higher	80.1%2015-2019	90.4%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	53%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5232015-2019	0.4372020-2024	−0.087	Within the margin of error	94%
Median household income	$40,3472015-2019	$49,3372020-2024	+22%	Within the margin of error	38%
Poverty rate	21.7%2015-2019	12.0%2020-2024	−9.7 points	Improved	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	30.8%2015-2019	28.1%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Rent-burdened households	53.5%2015-2019	33.4%2020-2024	−20 points	Improved	94%

“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 Stanford, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Stanford, 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, Stanford, Kentucky itself moved +12.9 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

3,643 residents (±43)

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

1,662 households (±184)

Stanford, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k23%†383
$25k–50k28%†470
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,662 households (±184)

Stanford, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own67%1,118
Rent33%†544

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† 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

1,443 workers (±201)

Stanford, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone84%1,208
Carpool2.9%†42
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 Danville, KY

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 Lincoln County, the county holding most of Stanford's residents.

Lincoln County has 304 employer establishments, 123 for every 10,000 residents (0.49× the US rate of 248; 0.59× Kentucky's), with 2,710 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,008. The Census Bureau also counts 1,910 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 304; 1,910 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 123; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 2,710
Average annual pay: $40,008; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	26	10.5	1.89×More than typical	65	$21,108	—
Specialty trade contractors	23	9.3	0.60×Fewer than typical	127	$66,528	265
Ambulatory health care services	21	8.5	0.41×Fewer than typical	207	$41,995	60
Restaurants and other eating places	17	6.9	0.37×Fewer than typical	250	$18,456	5
Gasoline stations	15	6.1	1.87×More than typical	61	$21,525	5
Building equipment contractors	13	5.2	0.87×About typical	96	$74,833	35
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	4	0.80×About typical	19	$19,789	53
Limited-service restaurants	10	4	0.50×Fewer than typical	212	$18,566	—
General merchandise stores	9	3.6	2.05×Too few to compare	252	$33,171	12
Insurance agencies and brokerages	9	3.6	0.83×Too few to compare	20	$43,750	18
Banks and credit unions	7	2.8	0.87×Too few to compare	130	$63,485	—
Construction of buildings	7	2.8	0.37×Too few to compare	17	$26,765	96

Rank places for an industry Open Lincoln County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 24,791 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 $3,136 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Stanford, Kentucky: $0.86 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3,136; −76% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.86; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; 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 Veterans Affairs$3,136100%

Top recipients

STANFORD CARE AND REHAB, LLC$3,136100%

Spending by fiscal year

2.5KFY2017
6.1KFY2018
9.8KFY2019
11.9KFY2020
7.4KFY2021
11.2KFY2022
15.7KFY2023
14.6KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$3,136100%

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

Stanford, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Lincoln County, KY ($5.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Lincoln 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.

Stanford, 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.

Lincoln County18100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Danville, KY28

Other cities and towns in Lincoln 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/2173110

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends