Living in Bellevue, Kentucky: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.6% below the U.S. average in the Cincinnati metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood4 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town6 public schools: 3 elementary and 3 high schools.
A hospital close bySt. Elizabeth Ft Thomas in Fort Thomas, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityCincinnati is about 3 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bellevue meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Bellevue runs into the built-up area around Cincinnati (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $206,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Campbell County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,265 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $71,166U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,318 a yearKentucky: $1,544
Homes built before 1940: 64%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 95.4U.S. average = 100 (the Cincinnati metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cincinnati metro area, not Bellevue alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 5,8472020: 5,547
Median age: 35.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 44%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 9%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (27%); finance, insurance and real estate (12%); professional and business services (12%)
Unemployment rate: 2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 11%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Elizabeth Ft Thomas, Fort Thomas, KY, about 2 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

6 public schools in Bellevue, run by Bellevue Independent and Newport Independent.

Colleges in or next to town: Gods Bible School and College (under 1,000 students); Art Academy of Cincinnati (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Kentucky's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 86%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 94%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 24°F
July average high: 87°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 27 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 102 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.2 inches a year
Snow: 16 inches a year
Elevation: 568 feet

Weather stations: Cincinnati Lunken Ap (3 miles away) and Cheviot (9 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

St. Elizabeth Ft ThomasEmergency room2

Cincinnati, OHMetro of 2.3 million3

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: St. Elizabeth Ft Thomas, Cincinnati.

Campbell County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Fairfield Avenue Historic District and the Taylor's Daughters Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

William Howard Taft National Historic Site2 miles
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park46 miles
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument52 miles

Campus life. Check Gods Bible School and College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Bellevue's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bellevue?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Dayton, KY6,000 people, 1 miles
Newport, KY14,000 people, 1 miles
Fort Thomas, KY17,100 people, 2 miles
Southgate, KY3,900 people, 3 miles
Park Hills, KY3,200 people, 4 miles
Ludlow, KY4,400 people, 4 miles

Smaller places

Woodlawn, KY230 people, 1 mile
Kenton Vale, KY105 people, 4 miles
Bromley, KY738 people, 5 miles
Crestview, KY475 people, 6 miles
Ridgewood, OH (unincorporated)380 people, 7 miles
Madison Place, OH (unincorporated)815 people, 7 miles
Plainville, OH (unincorporated)100 people, 7 miles
Fairview, KY140 people, 7 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.