Census-designated place · Johnson County, Kentucky

West Van Lear, Kentucky

West Van Lear is a census-designated place in Johnson County, Kentucky. It has 1,155 residents. West Van Lear, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 41 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,312 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #88 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), unemployment rate (low) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on primary care shortage (high), life expectancy (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (low).

41Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,312 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #88 of 243 in KY
Population: 1,155 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,062.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2182056

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.

Safety90#1,553/15,637
Economy59#6,360/15,631
Housing96#577/14,977
Health12#13,778/15,609
Healthcare20#12,445/15,650
Environment51#7,546/15,453
Education47#8,298/15,649
Infrastructure40#9,391/15,650
Community4#15,025/15,651
Leisure & amenities23#12,055/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where West Van Lear, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Johnson 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

Property crime rate · low199 /100k
99/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationJohnson County value
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Kentucky 4.6%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Pharmacies · high3.2 /10k
97/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJohnson County value
Violent crime rate · low62 /100k
95/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationJohnson County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Kentucky 5.5 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataJohnson County value
Poverty rate · low3.5%
88/100Kentucky 15.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Primary care shortage · high20.0
1/100Kentucky 10.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationJohnson County value
Life expectancy · low69.3 yrs
2/100Kentucky 73.6 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJohnson County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.9 /10k
2/100Kentucky 4.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJohnson County value
Premature death · high16,120 /100k
3/100Kentucky 11,364 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJohnson County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,725 /100k
3/100Kentucky 3,415 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJohnson County value
Dental care shortage · high19.0
3/100Kentucky 10.9United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationJohnson County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,231 (2016-2020) → 1,155 (2020-2024)
−6.2%4 yearsCensus table B01003US 331,578,104 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
54.4% (2016-2020) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−54 pts4 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.1% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
51.0% (2016-2020) → 11.8% (2020-2024)
−39 pts4 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.6% → 30.6%
High school diploma or higherImproving
91.1% (2016-2020) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts4 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.5% → 89.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
87.1% (2016-2020) → 95.0% (2020-2024)
+7.9 pts4 yearsCensus table B28002US 85.2% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
8.7% (2016-2020) → 3.5% (2020-2024)
−5.2 pts4 yearsCensus table B17001US 11.9% → 12.1%

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.

There is not enough history to compare West Van Lear, Kentucky over five years.

Cities and towns like West Van Lear, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of West Van Lear, 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.

No place that looked like West Van Lear, Kentucky five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

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

1,155 residents (±546)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,155 residents (±546)

West Van Lear, Kentucky
Kentucky share

White96%†1,107
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino0.0%0

Education

853 residents (±363)

West Van Lear, Kentucky
Kentucky share

No high school diploma0.0%0
High school or GED29%†248
Some college29%†251

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

456 households (±162)

West Van Lear, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k15%†68
$25k–50k10%†46
$50k–75k30%†137
$75k–100k7.5%†34
$100k–150k34%†157
$150k–200k3.1%†14
$200k or more0.0%0

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

456 households (±162)

West Van Lear, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own92%†421
Rent7.7%†35

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

35 households (±42)

West Van Lear, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $75071%†25
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,50029%†10

Home values

421 homes (±175)

West Van Lear, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $150k60%†251
$150k–250k38%†161
$250k–400k2.1%†9

Age of homes

492 homes (±170)

West Van Lear, Kentucky
Kentucky share

2010 or later2.2%†11
2000–200928%†140
1980–199920%†96

Size of homes

492 homes (±170)

West Van Lear, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom3.0%†15
2 bedrooms8.3%†41

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

539 workers (±220)

West Van Lear, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone87%†470
Carpool0.0%0
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home13%†69
Other0.0%0

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

470 workers (±199)

West Van Lear, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under 15 min44%†209
15–29 min16%†77
30–44 min15%†69

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Johnson County, the county holding most of West Van Lear's residents.

Johnson County has 351 employer establishments, 159 for every 10,000 residents (0.64× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Kentucky's), with 3,592 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,560. The Census Bureau also counts 1,333 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 351; 1,333 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 159; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 3,592
Average annual pay: $37,560; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	34	15.4	0.74×Fewer than typical	225	$58,751	51
Restaurants and other eating places	30	13.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	486	$17,994	7
Gasoline stations	22	9.9	3.07×More than typical	192	$27,651	—
Offices of physicians	22	9.9	1.53×More than typical	146	$63,397	15
Specialty trade contractors	18	8.1	0.53×Fewer than typical	101	$53,465	143
Full-service restaurants	16	7.2	0.94×About typical	144	$20,292	—
Limited-service restaurants	13	5.9	0.73×Fewer than typical	339	$17,088	—
Legal services	12	5.4	1.01×About typical	56	$48,875	8
Lessors of real estate	12	5.4	0.44×Fewer than typical	33	$23,909	88
General merchandise stores	11	5	2.81×More than typical	407	$30,958	23
Religious organizations	10	4.5	0.81×About typical	23	$15,739	—
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	8	3.6	2.07×Too few to compare	74	$43,892	5

Rank places for an industry Open Johnson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 22,134 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 West Van Lear, 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

1.3KFY2022

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 West Van Lear, Kentucky, so they do not add up across cities.

West Van Lear, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Johnson County, KY ($1.5M 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: West Van Lear is mostly in Johnson County.

See federal money in Johnson 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.

West Van Lear, 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.

Johnson County26100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Johnson 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

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