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Towns / Kentucky

Northfield, Kentucky

Northfield is a suburb of about 1,000 people in Jefferson County, Kentucky, in the Louisville area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.6 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, Louisville/Jefferson County, is about 8 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Louisville

Population
1,015
up 1.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$513,300
Jefferson County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$111,250
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Louisville/Jefferson County area
93.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Louisville, KY
To Louisville/Jefferson County
8 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.9% below the U.S. average in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byBaptist Health Louisville in Louisville, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityLouisville/Jefferson County 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 Northfield 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

Northfield runs into the built-up area around Louisville (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
$513,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Jefferson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,659 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$111,250U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$4,614 a yearKentucky: $1,544
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
93.1U.S. average = 100 (the Louisville/Jefferson County 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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area, not Northfield 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
1,0152020: 996
Median age
46.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%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 (30%); professional and business services (15%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
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: Baptist Health Louisville, Louisville, KY, about 3 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

4 public schools in Northfield, run by Jefferson 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.

Weather

January average low
27°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
38 a year
Nights at or below freezing
80 a year
Rain and melted snow
48 inches a year
Snow
4 inches a year
Elevation
583 feet

Weather stations: Louisville Bowman Fld (4 miles away) and Louisville Mcalpine (8 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 Louisville, Jeffersonville, Louisville/Jefferson County.

Jefferson 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park46 miles

Read about Northfield's history on Wikipedia.

Know Northfield?

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

  • Glenview Manor, KY211 people, next door
  • Crossgate, KY223 people, 1 mile
  • Thornhill, KY188 people, 1 mile
  • Glenview Hills, KY382 people, 1 mile
  • Hills and Dales, KY147 people, 1 mile
  • Old Brownsboro Place, KY382 people, 1 mile
  • Glenview, KY603 people, 1 mile
  • Riverwood, KY497 people, 1 mile

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.