Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Kentucky with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Kentucky that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Kentucky at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Walton.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Kentucky For 2026
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Kentucky reading:
- Best Counties To Live In Kentucky
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Kentucky
- Best Places To Retire In Kentucky
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Kentucky For 2026
/10
Population: 5,730
Median Home Price: $349,337
Population Change: 3.9%
Home Price Change: 3.3%
More on Walton: Data | Movers
2. Hazard
/10
Population: 5,008
Median Home Price: $102,373
Population Change: -1.9%
Home Price Change: 6.3%
More on Hazard: Movers
/10
Population: 6,356
Median Home Price: $481,031
Population Change: 1.3%
Home Price Change: 1.8%
More on Crestwood: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,270
Median Home Price: $125,457
Population Change: 0.8%
Home Price Change: 7.0%
More on Williamsburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,743
Median Home Price: $200,111
Population Change: 0.7%
Home Price Change: -0.5%
More on Dayton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,474
Median Home Price: $390,588
Population Change: 0.7%
Home Price Change: -0.0%
More on Douglass Hills: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,887
Median Home Price: $334,171
Population Change: 0.1%
Home Price Change: 1.6%
More on Fort Wright: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,707
Median Home Price: $120,967
Population Change: -0.5%
Home Price Change: -4.7%
More on Central City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,636
Median Home Price: $245,118
Population Change: 0.7%
Home Price Change: 2.2%
More on Bellevue: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 6,430
Median Home Price: $227,854
Population Change: 1.0%
Home Price Change: 7.0%
More on Lebanon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Kentucky for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 11. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Kentucky. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Kentucky with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Kentucky with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Kentucky, only 80 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 80 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Walton is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Bluegrass State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Kentucky for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Kentucky. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Kentucky are Walton, Hazard, Crestwood, Williamsburg, Dayton, Douglass Hills, Fort Wright, Central City, Bellevue, and Lebanon.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Kentucky reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Kentucky
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walton | 5,730 | $349,337 | 3.9% | 3.3% |
| 2 | Hazard | 5,008 | $102,373 | -1.9% | 6.3% |
| 3 | Crestwood | 6,356 | $481,031 | 1.3% | 1.8% |
| 4 | Williamsburg | 5,270 | $125,457 | 0.8% | 7.0% |
| 5 | Dayton | 5,743 | $200,111 | 0.7% | -0.5% |
| 6 | Douglass Hills | 5,474 | $390,588 | 0.7% | -0.0% |
| 7 | Fort Wright | 5,887 | $334,171 | 0.1% | 1.6% |
| 8 | Central City | 5,707 | $120,967 | -0.5% | -4.7% |
| 9 | Bellevue | 5,636 | $245,118 | 0.7% | 2.2% |
| 10 | Lebanon | 6,430 | $227,854 | 1.0% | 7.0% |
| 11 | Union | 7,642 | $449,092 | 2.0% | 1.1% |
| 12 | Monticello | 5,753 | $158,807 | 0.2% | -2.1% |
| 13 | Princeton | 6,241 | $146,193 | -0.0% | 6.3% |
| 14 | Vine Grove | 6,830 | $269,116 | 1.6% | -1.9% |
| 15 | Cynthiana | 6,458 | $236,039 | 0.7% | 4.5% |
| 16 | Wilmore | 6,057 | $311,533 | 0.4% | 2.6% |
| 17 | Cold Spring | 6,341 | $302,336 | 0.7% | 9.8% |
| 18 | Pikeville | 7,490 | $123,118 | -0.9% | 7.9% |
| 19 | Leitchfield | 6,819 | $166,230 | 6.0% | -0.3% |
| 20 | Taylor Mill | 6,937 | $276,590 | 0.8% | 3.5% |
| 21 | Russellville | 7,316 | $187,675 | 1.0% | -6.8% |
| 22 | Flatwoods | 7,269 | $142,236 | -0.2% | 2.9% |
| 23 | Mount Sterling | 7,551 | $218,630 | 0.0% | 2.1% |
| 24 | Oak Grove | 7,962 | $210,938 | 0.2% | -0.7% |
| 25 | Highland Heights | 6,444 | $205,650 | -1.3% | 3.9% |
| 26 | Villa Hills | 7,480 | $393,017 | 1.4% | 4.7% |
| 27 | Corbin | 8,246 | $176,478 | -2.2% | 3.9% |
| 28 | Morehead | 6,870 | $179,843 | -0.8% | 0.4% |
| 29 | Middletown | 9,763 | $378,971 | 1.5% | 7.6% |
| 30 | London | 7,561 | $182,770 | -0.2% | 0.3% |
| 31 | Fort Mitchell | 8,713 | $398,734 | 0.4% | 4.1% |
| 32 | Harrodsburg | 9,313 | $237,088 | 2.0% | 1.0% |
| 33 | Elsmere | 9,205 | $222,954 | 0.6% | 3.2% |
| 34 | Maysville | 8,737 | $157,413 | -0.5% | 0.8% |
| 35 | Edgewood | 8,447 | $361,114 | 0.2% | 3.3% |
| 36 | Franklin | 10,360 | $247,588 | 1.0% | 0.1% |
| 37 | La Grange | 10,311 | $392,371 | 1.2% | 1.3% |
| 38 | Hillview | 8,797 | $224,674 | 0.7% | 2.0% |
| 39 | Middlesborough | 9,123 | $112,676 | -1.5% | 7.8% |
| 40 | Versailles | 10,492 | $348,651 | 1.1% | 0.4% |
| 41 | Alexandria | 10,562 | $338,680 | 1.3% | 5.5% |
| 42 | Paris | 10,160 | $256,361 | 0.5% | 1.9% |
| 43 | Mayfield | 9,868 | $158,700 | -0.4% | 2.3% |
| 44 | Campbellsville | 11,622 | $209,816 | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| 45 | Lawrenceburg | 11,943 | $261,325 | 0.9% | -0.9% |
| 46 | Lyndon | 11,030 | $312,200 | 0.7% | -3.1% |
| 47 | Somerset | 12,216 | $191,314 | 0.9% | -1.6% |
| 48 | Bardstown | 13,804 | $262,583 | 1.0% | 3.9% |
| 49 | Shepherdsville | 14,533 | $285,269 | 1.3% | 2.2% |
| 50 | Glasgow | 15,197 | $214,445 | 0.4% | 1.9% |
| 51 | Mount Washington | 18,480 | $325,405 | 1.4% | 1.1% |
| 52 | Newport | 13,967 | $242,641 | -0.5% | 2.2% |
| 53 | Shively | 15,638 | $174,484 | 0.5% | 6.4% |
| 54 | Berea | 15,786 | $247,721 | 1.5% | 0.9% |
| 55 | Shelbyville | 17,668 | $305,922 | 1.3% | 0.7% |
| 56 | Fort Thomas | 17,169 | $368,292 | -0.4% | 5.4% |
| 57 | Danville | 17,327 | $247,084 | 0.5% | 1.8% |
| 58 | St. Matthews | 17,577 | $381,227 | 0.5% | -0.7% |
| 59 | Winchester | 19,213 | $256,848 | 0.4% | -0.8% |
| 60 | Madisonville | 19,515 | $159,337 | 0.4% | 3.7% |
| 61 | Erlanger | 19,875 | $245,646 | 1.0% | 1.7% |
| 62 | Murray | 18,080 | $198,097 | 1.1% | 3.2% |
| 63 | Ashland | 21,295 | $121,323 | -0.5% | 3.5% |
| 64 | Radcliff | 22,864 | $209,910 | -0.4% | -1.3% |
| 65 | Paducah | 26,845 | $191,091 | -0.2% | -1.5% |
| 66 | Frankfort | 28,503 | $240,679 | 0.2% | -1.3% |
| 67 | Jeffersontown | 29,199 | $282,762 | 0.7% | 1.3% |
| 68 | Independence | 29,392 | $323,030 | 1.3% | 2.2% |
| 69 | Henderson | 27,852 | $198,771 | -0.5% | 3.6% |
| 70 | Elizabethtown | 32,576 | $268,312 | 2.2% | -0.9% |
| 71 | Nicholasville | 32,197 | $320,269 | 1.8% | 3.1% |
| 72 | Hopkinsville | 30,906 | $195,679 | -0.3% | 0.6% |
| 73 | Florence | 32,803 | $286,328 | 1.5% | 1.9% |
| 74 | Georgetown | 39,117 | $336,540 | 2.4% | 3.3% |
| 75 | Richmond | 37,111 | $297,032 | 4.5% | 0.6% |
| 76 | Covington | 41,110 | $221,429 | 0.5% | 4.8% |
| 77 | Owensboro | 60,302 | $209,851 | 0.3% | 3.9% |
| 78 | Bowling Green | 75,388 | $288,241 | 2.4% | 1.5% |
| 79 | Lexington-Fayette Urban County | 323,725 | $331,036 | 0.8% | 3.2% |
| 80 | Louisville/jefferson County Metro Government (Balance) | 631,818 | $263,813 | 0.7% | 1.1% |