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Flatwoods, Kentucky

Flatwoods is a suburb of about 7,400 people in Greenup County, Kentucky, in the Huntington area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.9 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, Columbus, is about 102 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Huntington

Population
7,439
down 0.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$114,600
Greenup County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$59,972
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Huntington area
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Ashland, KY
To Columbus
102 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.6% below the U.S. average in the Huntington-Ashland metro area.
  • 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 neighborhood4 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town7 public schools: 3 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byKing's Daughters' Medical Center in Ashland, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityColumbus is about 102 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 Flatwoods 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

Flatwoods runs into the built-up area around Huntington (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
$114,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Greenup County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$940 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$59,972U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
75%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,083 a yearKentucky: $1,544
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.4U.S. average = 100 (the Huntington-Ashland 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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Huntington-Ashland metro area, not Flatwoods 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
7,4392020: 7,495
Median age
38.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%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
Schools, health care and social services (35%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%); retail (10%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
18%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: King's Daughters' Medical Center, Ashland, KY, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

7 public schools in Flatwoods, run by Russell Independent and Raceland-Worthington Independent.

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
70%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%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
22°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
35 a year
Nights at or below freezing
125 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.5 inches a year
Snow
6 inches a year
Elevation
600 feet

Weather stations: Ashland (8 miles away) and S Pt (10 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: King's Daughters' Medical Center, Lexington-Fayette, Columbus.

Greenup County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Hopewell Culture National Historical Park53 miles

Read about Flatwoods's history on Wikipedia.

Know Flatwoods?

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

  • Hanging Rock, OH198 people, 2 miles
  • Bellefonte, KY881 people, 3 miles
  • Wurtland, KY968 people, 3 miles
  • Ironville, KY (unincorporated)411 people, 5 miles
  • Franklin Furnace, OH (unincorporated)1,594 people, 10 miles
  • Cannonsburg, KY (unincorporated)1,129 people, 10 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.