Living in Clinton, Kentucky: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.7% below the U.S. average in the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byBaptist Memorial Hospital Union City in Union City, about 18 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 121 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 Clinton 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $67,100U.S.: $332,700
Typical rent, with utilities: $653 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $34,464U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $328 a yearKentucky: $1,544
Homes built before 1940: 10%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 85.3U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas, not Clinton 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: 1,1772020: 1,216
Median age: 52.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 27%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 11%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 15%U.S.: 6%

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: Government (10%)
Average commute: 20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 0%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Baptist Memorial Hospital Union City, Union City, TN, about 18 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

2 public schools in Clinton, run by Hickman County.

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: 38%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 84%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: 26°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 48 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 88 a year
Rain and melted snow: 53.8 inches a year
Snow: 6 inches a year
Elevation: 387 feet

Weather stations: Bardwell 2 E (15 miles away) and Union City (19 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

Baptist Memorial Hospital Union CityEmergency room18

Jackson, TNCity of 69,00070

Memphis, TNMetro of 1.3 million121

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: Baptist Memorial Hospital Union City, Jackson, Memphis.

Hickman County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Fort Donelson National Battlefield52 miles

Read about Clinton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Clinton?

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

Fulton, KY2,300 people, 12 miles
Hickman, KY2,300 people, 13 miles
South Fulton, TN2,200 people, 13 miles
Union City, TN10,800 people, 17 miles
Mayfield, KY9,900 people, 20 miles
East Prairie, MO2,800 people, 23 miles

Smaller places

Arlington, KY256 people, 9 miles
Columbus, KY144 people, 9 miles
Water Valley, KY (unincorporated)137 people, 12 miles
Wingo, KY584 people, 14 miles
Fancy Farm, KY (unincorporated)326 people, 14 miles
Bardwell, KY713 people, 15 miles
Woodland Mills, TN334 people, 15 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.