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Versailles, Kentucky

Versailles is a small town of about 10,700 people in Woodford County, Kentucky. It's the county seat. It has grown about 4% 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 51 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
10,734
up 3.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$286,100
Woodford County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$62,368
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Lexington area
92.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Bluegrass Community Hospital
To Louisville/Jefferson County
51 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.1% below the U.S. average in the Lexington-Fayette 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 neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Versailles 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 town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byBluegrass Community Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityLouisville/Jefferson County is about 51 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 Versailles 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
$286,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Woodford County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,160 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$62,368U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
60%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,893 a yearKentucky: $1,544
Homes built before 1940
13%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
18%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.9U.S. average = 100 (the Lexington-Fayette 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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Lexington-Fayette metro area, not Versailles 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
10,7342020: 10,361
Median age
39 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
37%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%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 (22%); retail (11%); professional and business services (10%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Bluegrass Community Hospital, Versailles, KY, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Saint Joseph Hospital, Lexington, KY, about 11 miles away. 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

5 public schools in Versailles, run by Woodford County.

Colleges in or next to town: Frontier Nursing 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
65%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
25°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
14 a year
Nights at or below freezing
91 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.8 inches a year
Snow
14 inches a year
Elevation
920 feet

Weather stations: Versailles 3 NNW (3 miles away) and Lexington Bluegrass Ap (7 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, Louisville/Jefferson County.

Woodford 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

40 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Charles Black Farm, Clifton Country Club, the Clifton-McCraken Rural Historic District and the Downtown Versailles Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Camp Nelson National Monument18 miles
  • Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park58 miles

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

Read about Versailles's history on Wikipedia.

Know Versailles?

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

  • Keene, KY105 people, 9 miles
  • Salvisa, KY (unincorporated)236 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.