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Lakeside Park, Kentucky

Lakeside Park is a suburb of about 2,800 people in Kenton County, Kentucky, in the Cincinnati area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Cincinnati, is about 8 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Cincinnati

Population
2,847
up 0% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$360,400
Kenton County prices up 19% since 2022
Prices, Cincinnati area
95.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
2 miles
Edgewood, KY
To Cincinnati
8 mi
straight line

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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Lakeside Park to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Lakeside Park 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 town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySt. Elizabeth Edgewood in Edgewood, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCincinnati is about 8 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 Lakeside Park 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

Lakeside Park 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
$360,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Kenton County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,154 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
83%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,156 a yearKentucky: $1,544
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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cincinnati metro area, not Lakeside Park 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
2,8472020: 2,846
Median age
38.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
54%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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 (31%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (14%); finance, insurance and real estate (11%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
1%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Elizabeth Edgewood, Edgewood, 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

2 public schools in Lakeside Park, run by Beechwood Independent.

Colleges in or next to town: Thomas More University (1,000 to 4,999 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.

Weather

January average low
23°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
22 a year
Nights at or below freezing
100 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.3 inches a year
Snow
23 inches a year
Elevation
865 feet

Weather station: Cincinnati Northern Ky Ap (6 miles away). 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: St. Elizabeth Edgewood, Cincinnati.

Kenton 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Dixie Highway Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • William Howard Taft National Historic Site7 miles
  • Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park52 miles
  • Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument59 miles

Campus life. Check Thomas More University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Lakeside Park's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lakeside Park?

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

  • Kenton Vale, KY105 people, 3 miles
  • Bromley, KY738 people, 3 miles
  • Fairview, KY140 people, 5 miles
  • Woodlawn, KY230 people, 6 miles
  • Ryland Heights, KY951 people, 8 miles
  • Crestview, KY475 people, 8 miles
  • Melbourne, KY491 people, 11 miles
  • Addyston, OH911 people, 11 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.