City · Greenup County, Kentucky

Worthington, Kentucky

Worthington is a city in Greenup County, Kentucky, part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area. It has 1,759 residents. Worthington, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 34 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,398 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #100 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), rent-burdened households (low) and violent crime rate (low). It ranks worst on preventable hospital stays (high), public EV charging ports (low) and adult smoking (high).

34Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,398 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #100 of 243 in KY
Population: 1,759 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,548.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2184864

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.

Safety93#1,086/15,637
Economy43#8,970/15,631
Housing96#658/14,977
Health7#14,582/15,609
Healthcare11#13,941/15,650
Environment48#8,078/15,453
Education49#7,943/15,649
Infrastructure22#12,177/15,650
Community29#11,147/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,132/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Worthington, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Greenup 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 as share of income · low17.9%
99/100Kentucky 28.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · low18.2%
99/100Kentucky 45.4%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Violent crime rate · low48 /100k
98/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureGreenup County value
Pharmacies · high3.1 /10k
97/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGreenup County value
Property crime rate · low329 /100k
96/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureGreenup County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Kentucky 5.5 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataGreenup County value

Weaknesses

Preventable hospital stays · high5,245 /100k
1/100Kentucky 3,415 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGreenup County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Kentucky 2.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyGreenup County value
Adult smoking · high22.9%
4/100Kentucky 17.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Restaurants and bars · low4.0 /10k
5/100Kentucky 8.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGreenup County value
Injury deaths · high140 /100k
6/100Kentucky 115 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGreenup County value
Adult obesity · high44.2%
6/100Kentucky 38.1%United States 38.2%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,549 (2015-2019) → 1,759 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
53.9% (2015-2019) → 18.2% (2020-2024)
−36 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
34.8% (2015-2019) → 13.6% (2020-2024)
−21 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
36.0% (2015-2019) → 17.9% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
5.1% (2015-2019) → 16.0% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Unemployment rateImproving
9.7% (2015-2019) → 3.0% (2020-2024)
−6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Worthington, 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

Rent burden−36 points53.9% → 18.2%
Inequality−0.0780.405 → 0.327
Household income+27%$51,500 → $65,609

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Worthington, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.6 min2015-2019	21.6 min2020-2024	+1.0 min	Within the margin of error	36%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.7%2015-2019	14.9%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Broadband subscriptions	85.3%2015-2019	86.1%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Effective property tax rate	1.00%2015-2019	0.92%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
High school diploma or higher	91.3%2015-2019	93.0%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	74%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4052015-2019	0.3272020-2024	−0.078	Improved	92%
Median household income	$51,5002015-2019	$65,6092020-2024	+27%	Improved	49%
Poverty rate	13.9%2015-2019	12.0%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	36.0%2015-2019	17.9%2020-2024	−18 points	Within the margin of error	98%
Rent-burdened households	53.9%2015-2019	18.2%2020-2024	−36 points	Improved	99%

“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 Worthington, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Worthington, 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, Worthington, Kentucky itself moved +14 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

1,759 residents (±349)

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

796 households (±190)

Worthington, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k12%†99
$25k–50k24%†188
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

796 households (±190)

Worthington, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own69%547
Rent31%†249

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

879 workers (±218)

Worthington, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone86%758
Carpool11%†100
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 Greenup County, the county holding most of Worthington's residents.

Greenup County has 466 employer establishments, 132 for every 10,000 residents (0.53× the US rate of 248; 0.64× Kentucky's), with 5,079 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,142. The Census Bureau also counts 2,090 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 466; 2,090 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 132; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 5,079
Average annual pay: $46,142; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	42	11.9	0.57×Fewer than typical	334	$53,602	118
Restaurants and other eating places	37	10.5	0.57×Fewer than typical	653	$18,887	11
Specialty trade contractors	27	7.6	0.49×Fewer than typical	115	$49,043	200
Religious organizations	22	6.2	1.12×About typical	93	$21,258	—
Gasoline stations	19	5.4	1.66×More than typical	179	$20,291	—
Limited-service restaurants	19	5.4	0.67×Fewer than typical	371	$17,275	8
Services to buildings and dwellings	18	5.1	0.76×Fewer than typical	153	$36,157	149
Full-service restaurants	15	4.2	0.55×Fewer than typical	211	$21,232	—
Banks and credit unions	14	4	1.23×About typical	103	$51,961	—
Construction of buildings	14	4	0.52×Fewer than typical	47	$43,170	80
General merchandise stores	14	4	2.24×More than typical	103	$19,417	24
Insurance agencies and brokerages	14	4	0.90×About typical	80	$51,600	55

Rank places for an industry Open Greenup County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 35,311 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: Worthington is mostly in Greenup County.

See federal money in Greenup 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.

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

House

Thomas MassieR-KY-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 85%Missed 5.9%

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.

Greenup County41100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH33

Other cities and towns in Greenup 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/2184864

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends