There are all types when it comes to being a snob in Kentucky. You’ve got your Wine Snobs, Book Snobs, and, of course, Clothes Snobs. Then there are the Technology Snobs, Car Snobs, and yes, even City Snobs — as in, I’m better than you because I live in (insert snooty city here).
How can we tell which Kentucky cities are the snobbiest? By measuring snobby things, that’s how.
We used Saturday Night Science to look at things like expensive homes, high incomes, and overly educated populations by city in Kentucky. These are the criteria you’d argue with a friend over a foodie dinner about who’s snobbier.
After analyzing 77 of the state’s most populous areas over 5,000 people, we came up with this ranking of the ten snobbiest places in the state of Kentucky.
The Kentuckian in these places aren’t snobby, they just know they’re better than you.
$136,712 median income · $449,093 median home · #1 income in Kentucky
Located in
Boone County, Kentucky
Union is a home rule-class city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,379 as of the 2010 United States Census. The area was rural until mass residential growth in the 1990s and 2000s.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$108,046 median income · $481,032 median home · #3 income in Kentucky
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$107,859 median income · $393,017 median home · #4 income in Kentucky
Located in
Kenton County, Kentucky
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$119,028 median income · $361,115 median home · #2 income in Kentucky
Located in
Kenton County, Kentucky
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$104,350 median income · $368,293 median home · #6 income in Kentucky
Located in
Campbell County, Kentucky
Fort Thomas is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States, on the southern bank of the Ohio River and the site of an 1890 US Army post. The population was 16,325 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in Campbell County and it is officially part of the Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$82,412 median income · $381,227 median home · #14 income in Kentucky
Located in
Jefferson County, Kentucky
St. Matthews is a city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. It forms part of the Louisville Metro government but is separately incorporated as a home rule-class city. The population was 15,852 at the 2000 census, making it the 20th-largest city in the state.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$78,482 median income · $390,589 median home · #17 income in Kentucky
Located in
Jefferson County, Kentucky
Douglass Hills is a home rule-class city in eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,718 at the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$86,310 median income · $398,735 median home · #12 income in Kentucky
Located in
Kenton County, Kentucky
Fort Mitchell is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 8,207 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$82,537 median income · $378,971 median home · #13 income in Kentucky
Located in
Jefferson County, Kentucky
Middletown is an independent, home rule-class city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States, and a former neighborhood of Louisville. The population was 7,218 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$105,024 median income · $334,172 median home · #5 income in Kentucky
Located in
Kenton County, Kentucky
Fort Wright is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 5,723 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Kentucky’s statewide median.
Kentucky statewide median: $63,726
Kentucky statewide median: $231,894
On the map
Where the snobs live in Kentucky
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the snobbiest cities in the Bluegrass State
Do you think we’d just come up with this list willy-nilly? Not a chance – we only use Saturday Night Science around here.
We gathered up all of the places in Kentucky with populations of 5,000 people or more. This left us with a total of 77 places. Then, we looked at each place in terms of these snoot-er-iffic criteria (And no, it’s not a word. English snob.):
- Median home price (Higher is snobbier)
- Median household income (Higher is snobbier)
- Percent of population with a college degree (Higher is snobbier)
Incomes and college education levels come from the American Community Survey. Home prices come from Zillow.
Turned out this simple criteria was much better at sniffing out the snobby places then more snobby criteria like:
- Libaries per capita (Higher is snobbier)
- Museums per capita (Higher is snobbier)
- Private schools per capita (Higher is snobbier)
From there, we ranked each of our 77 places in each category with scores from one to 77. We then averaged each place’s ranking into one overall score, where the lowest score went to the snobbiest place in Kentucky. So let’s all flip a table in honor of Union (with our pinkies up, of course.)
Before you get upset and ruin your blowout or something drastic here, let’s remember that this is all in good fun. Would we live in one of these 10 places if we had the chance? Of course, we would.
And it’s not like your real estate agent would ever point out how snobby the town you’re moving to is. We’re here to keep you grounded, even if you’re wearing a monocle.
The full plate
Table: The Snobbiest Cities In Kentucky For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Snob Score | Population | Median Income | Average Home Prices | Adult Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union | 2.00 | 7,642 | $136,712 | $449,093 | 59.0% |
| 2 | Crestwood | 4.50 | 6,356 | $108,046 | $481,032 | 47.0% |
| 3 | Villa Hills | 5.00 | 7,480 | $107,859 | $393,017 | 51.0% |
| 4 | Edgewood | 5.50 | 8,447 | $119,028 | $361,115 | 55.0% |
| 5 | Fort Thomas | 6.50 | 17,169 | $104,350 | $368,293 | 55.0% |
| 6 | St. Matthews | 7.67 | 17,577 | $82,412 | $381,227 | 59.0% |
| 7 | Douglass Hills | 8.00 | 5,474 | $78,482 | $390,589 | 60.0% |
| 8 | Fort Mitchell | 8.17 | 8,713 | $86,310 | $398,735 | 47.0% |
| 9 | Middletown | 9.00 | 9,763 | $82,537 | $378,971 | 52.0% |
| 10 | Fort Wright | 10.33 | 5,887 | $105,024 | $334,172 | 45.0% |
| 11 | La Grange | 11.50 | 10,311 | $88,464 | $392,372 | 39.0% |
| 12 | Independence | 15.00 | 29,392 | $102,361 | $323,031 | 37.0% |
| 13 | Alexandria | 15.33 | 10,562 | $102,239 | $338,680 | 35.0% |
| 14 | Wilmore | 15.67 | 6,057 | $77,665 | $311,534 | 49.0% |
| 15 | Georgetown | 18.33 | 39,117 | $80,088 | $336,540 | 35.0% |
| 16 | Taylor Mill | 18.83 | 6,937 | $88,546 | $276,590 | 39.0% |
| 17 | Walton | 19.00 | 5,730 | $77,917 | $349,337 | 33.0% |
| 18 | Cold Spring | 19.17 | 6,341 | $75,000 | $302,336 | 43.0% |
| 19 | Jeffersontown | 19.50 | 29,199 | $81,506 | $282,762 | 40.0% |
| 20 | Lyndon | 20.67 | 11,030 | $65,679 | $312,200 | 44.0% |
| 21 | Mount Washington | 22.17 | 18,480 | $96,239 | $325,406 | 26.0% |
| 22 | Versailles | 22.33 | 10,492 | $62,368 | $348,651 | 36.0% |
| 23 | Shelbyville | 25.67 | 17,668 | $75,610 | $305,922 | 28.0% |
| 24 | Bellevue | 25.83 | 5,636 | $71,166 | $245,119 | 43.0% |
| 25 | Nicholasville | 27.50 | 32,197 | $68,503 | $320,269 | 27.0% |
| 26 | Erlanger | 29.00 | 19,875 | $75,840 | $245,646 | 32.0% |
| 27 | Florence | 29.50 | 32,803 | $71,003 | $286,328 | 27.0% |
| 28 | Newport | 31.67 | 13,967 | $60,853 | $242,641 | 37.0% |
| 29 | Vine Grove | 32.17 | 6,830 | $72,560 | $269,116 | 25.0% |
| 30 | Elizabethtown | 32.50 | 32,576 | $60,760 | $268,313 | 29.0% |
| 31 | Richmond | 34.00 | 37,111 | $50,870 | $297,033 | 35.0% |
| 32 | Covington | 35.67 | 41,110 | $61,166 | $221,429 | 33.0% |
| 33 | Berea | 36.83 | 15,786 | $59,495 | $247,721 | 27.0% |
| 34 | Bowling Green | 38.00 | 75,388 | $48,873 | $288,241 | 31.0% |
| 35 | Lawrenceburg | 38.33 | 11,943 | $66,486 | $261,326 | 22.0% |
| 36 | Shepherdsville | 38.67 | 14,533 | $71,476 | $285,270 | 18.0% |
| 37 | Highland Heights | 38.67 | 6,444 | $53,275 | $205,650 | 42.0% |
| 38 | Bardstown | 39.83 | 13,804 | $51,381 | $262,584 | 27.0% |
| 39 | Frankfort | 41.00 | 28,503 | $53,073 | $240,679 | 28.0% |
| 40 | Paris | 41.17 | 10,160 | $55,839 | $256,361 | 24.0% |
| 41 | Danville | 42.83 | 17,327 | $52,646 | $247,085 | 26.0% |
| 42 | Winchester | 43.17 | 19,213 | $54,378 | $256,849 | 23.0% |
| 43 | Elsmere | 43.17 | 9,205 | $60,503 | $222,955 | 24.0% |
| 44 | Owensboro | 44.83 | 60,302 | $56,357 | $209,852 | 26.0% |
| 45 | Hillview | 44.83 | 8,797 | $68,111 | $224,675 | 19.0% |
| 46 | Mount Sterling | 46.17 | 7,551 | $55,827 | $218,631 | 24.0% |
| 47 | Dayton | 46.83 | 5,743 | $65,992 | $200,111 | 22.0% |
| 48 | Franklin | 48.17 | 10,360 | $59,052 | $247,589 | 16.0% |
| 49 | Murray | 49.00 | 18,080 | $44,091 | $198,098 | 37.0% |
| 50 | Paducah | 49.50 | 26,845 | $49,915 | $191,091 | 29.0% |
| 51 | Campbellsville | 51.50 | 11,622 | $49,644 | $209,817 | 25.0% |
| 52 | Radcliff | 52.33 | 22,864 | $58,559 | $209,910 | 18.0% |
| 53 | Corbin | 52.50 | 8,246 | $51,065 | $176,478 | 26.0% |
| 54 | Cynthiana | 52.67 | 6,458 | $54,647 | $236,040 | 15.0% |
| 55 | Harrodsburg | 53.33 | 9,313 | $48,381 | $237,089 | 21.0% |
| 56 | Pikeville | 54.17 | 7,490 | $39,955 | $123,118 | 40.0% |
| 57 | Madisonville | 54.83 | 19,515 | $53,860 | $159,338 | 23.0% |
| 58 | Hopkinsville | 56.17 | 30,906 | $49,139 | $195,680 | 23.0% |
| 59 | Morehead | 56.33 | 6,870 | $36,741 | $179,844 | 30.0% |
| 60 | Ashland | 57.17 | 21,295 | $52,715 | $121,324 | 24.0% |
| 61 | Glasgow | 58.17 | 15,197 | $43,074 | $214,446 | 22.0% |
| 62 | Flatwoods | 59.50 | 7,269 | $59,972 | $142,236 | 16.0% |
| 63 | Henderson | 59.83 | 27,852 | $48,186 | $198,772 | 19.0% |
| 64 | Hazard | 60.50 | 5,008 | $51,016 | $102,374 | 23.0% |
| 65 | Oak Grove | 61.50 | 7,962 | $49,354 | $210,939 | 11.0% |
| 66 | Lebanon | 62.17 | 6,430 | $45,479 | $227,854 | 11.0% |
| 67 | London | 63.67 | 7,561 | $47,591 | $182,770 | 18.0% |
| 68 | Shively | 64.17 | 15,638 | $50,221 | $174,485 | 14.0% |
| 69 | Somerset | 65.50 | 12,216 | $34,704 | $191,314 | 19.0% |
| 70 | Russellville | 66.17 | 7,316 | $45,484 | $187,675 | 14.0% |
| 71 | Princeton | 67.00 | 6,241 | $47,411 | $146,193 | 18.0% |
| 72 | Mayfield | 67.17 | 9,868 | $40,965 | $158,700 | 19.0% |
| 73 | Maysville | 67.17 | 8,737 | $39,013 | $157,413 | 20.0% |
| 74 | Williamsburg | 68.50 | 5,270 | $38,147 | $125,457 | 20.0% |
| 75 | Leitchfield | 69.67 | 6,819 | $44,347 | $166,231 | 12.0% |
| 76 | Monticello | 69.67 | 5,753 | $44,952 | $158,807 | 13.0% |
| 77 | Middlesborough | 73.00 | 9,123 | $31,106 | $112,676 | 18.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, Zillow research. 77 places with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re On Your High Horse
When it comes to snobbery, these places in Kentucky are heading ever upward. Residents in these communities are well educated, well paid, and appear to have all the sophisticated culture and entertainment of an Ernst Lubitsch film right at their fingertips.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The snobbiest cities in Kentucky are Union, Crestwood, Villa Hills, Edgewood, Fort Thomas, St. Matthews, Douglass Hills, Fort Mitchell, Middletown, and Fort Wright. Not sold on Kentucky? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
