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Somerset, Kentucky

Somerset is a small town of about 12,700 people in Pulaski County, Kentucky. It's the county seat. It has grown about 6% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.1 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, Knoxville, is about 85 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
12,695
up 5.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$144,000
Pulaski County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$34,704
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Kentucky
85.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital
To Knoxville
85 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 4.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood41 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town12 public schools: 6 elementary, 3 middle and 3 high schools.
  • A hospital close byLake Cumberland Regional Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 85 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 Somerset 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
$144,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Pulaski County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$775 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$34,704U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
49%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,178 a yearKentucky: $1,544
Homes built before 1940
15%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas, not Somerset 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
12,6952020: 12,014
Median age
39.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%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 (24%); manufacturing (12%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
9%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
27%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital, Somerset, KY, in town. 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

12 public schools in Somerset, run by Pulaski County and Somerset Independent.

Colleges in or next to town: Somerset Community College (5,000 to 9,999 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
84%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
29°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
21 a year
Nights at or below freezing
94 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.9 inches a year
Snow
11 inches a year
Elevation
922 feet

Weather stations: Somerset 2 N (2 miles away) and Somerset 2 NE (2 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: Lexington-Fayette, Knoxville.

Pulaski 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

25 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Harvey's Hill Historic District, the North Main Street Historic District, the Somerset Downtown Commercial District and the South Courthouse Square Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument7 miles
  • Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area20 miles
  • Camp Nelson National Monument48 miles
  • Cumberland Gap National Historical Park58 miles

Read about Somerset's history on Wikipedia.

Know Somerset?

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

  • Ferguson, KY867 people, 2 miles
  • Burnside, KY733 people, 6 miles
  • Science Hill, KY667 people, 6 miles
  • Eubank, KY338 people, 14 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.