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Earlington, Kentucky

Earlington is a small town of about 1,300 people in Hopkins County, Kentucky. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.7 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Nashville, is about 86 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,262
up 0.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$64,000
Hopkins County prices up 29% since 2022
Household income
$38,194
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Kentucky
85.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
Madisonville, KY
To Nashville
86 mi
straight line

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 1.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Earlington itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Hopkins County Central High School, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byBaptist Health Deaconess Madisonville in Madisonville, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNashville is about 86 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 Earlington 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
$64,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 29%Hopkins County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$38,194U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$400 a yearKentucky: $1,544
Homes built before 1940
28%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%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: county prices have moved up 29% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas, not Earlington 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
1,2622020: 1,261
Median age
31 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%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
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%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%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (16%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (11%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville, Madisonville, KY, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

There are no public schools inside Earlington itself. The nearest public high school is Hopkins County Central High School, about 2 miles away.

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 any internet subscription
89%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
28°F
July average high
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
53 a year
Nights at or below freezing
80 a year
Rain and melted snow
53 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
538 feet

Weather stations: Madisonville (5 miles away) and Crofton 3N (13 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

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 Health Deaconess Madisonville, Owensboro, Nashville.

Hopkins County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Fort Donelson National Battlefield57 miles

Read about Earlington's history on Wikipedia.

Know Earlington?

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

Smaller places

  • Mortons Gap, KY725 people, 3 miles
  • St. Charles, KY285 people, 6 miles
  • Nortonville, KY989 people, 7 miles
  • Hanson, KY742 people, 10 miles
  • White Plains, KY874 people, 10 miles
  • Nebo, KY211 people, 11 miles
  • Slaughters, KY191 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.