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Simpsonville, Kentucky

Simpsonville is a small town of about 3,200 people in Shelby County, Kentucky. It has grown about 6% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3 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 17 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,183
up 6.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$270,800
Shelby County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$91,188
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Louisville/Jefferson County area
93.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Shelbyville, KY
To Louisville/Jefferson County
17 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 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 27.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Martha Layne Collins High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byUofl Health - Shelbyville Hospital in Shelbyville, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityLouisville/Jefferson County is about 17 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 Simpsonville 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
$270,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Shelby County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$945 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$91,188U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
83%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,243 a yearKentucky: $1,544
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
19%U.S.: 11%
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 Simpsonville 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
3,1832020: 2,989
Median age
34.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
44%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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 (27%); construction (11%); manufacturing (10%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Uofl Health - Shelbyville Hospital, Shelbyville, 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

1 public school in Simpsonville, run by Shelby County. The nearest public high school is Martha Layne Collins High School, about 4 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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%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
20°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
34 a year
Nights at or below freezing
139 a year
Rain and melted snow
53.1 inches a year
Snow
15 inches a year
Elevation
767 feet

Weather stations: Shelbyville 1 E (8 miles away) and Louisville Wfo (18 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: Uofl Health - Shelbyville Hospital, Jeffersonville, Louisville/Jefferson County.

Shelby 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

11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Whitney M. Young Jr., Birthplace and the Lincoln Institute Complex. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park44 miles
  • Camp Nelson National Monument50 miles

Read about Simpsonville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Simpsonville?

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

  • Elk Creek, KY (unincorporated)2,207 people, 7 miles
  • Woodland Hills, KY743 people, 10 miles
  • Sycamore, KY171 people, 12 miles
  • Blue Ridge Manor, KY796 people, 12 miles
  • Fincastle, KY848 people, 12 miles
  • Wildwood, KY285 people, 13 miles
  • Smithfield, KY131 people, 13 miles
  • Forest Hills, KY444 people, 13 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.