A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Grayson$990/mo

Typical home $172K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.64% · or rent about $745/mo · Housing →

Williamsburg$710/mo

Typical home $118K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.90% · or rent about $793/mo · Housing →

The difference: $290 a month, about $3,500 a year, between Grayson and Williamsburg.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Williamsburg places higher on 12 of 21 KY lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Kentucky ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

C+GraysonSafer than 43% of U.S. towns B+WilliamsburgSafer than 65% of U.S. towns

Schools

A−GraysonBetter than 78% of districts in the state B−WilliamsburgBetter than 49% of districts in the state

Health

DGraysonHealthier than 10% of U.S. towns DWilliamsburgHealthier than 13% of U.S. towns

7Grayson

12Williamsburg

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Shortest commuteGetting around · 145 towns #102#4 Most remote workersWork · 144 towns #135#73 Best schoolsSchools · 126 towns #65#117 Most new homesHousing · 77 towns #58#27 Most conserved landOutdoors · 131 towns #118#74 Fastest growingGrowth · 143 towns #140#93 SafestSafety · 118 towns #88#51 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 144 towns #90#134

Left end = #1 in Kentucky. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Grayson’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

GraysonWilliamsburg

Snow a year18″11″

January low22°F 25°F

July high87°F 87°F

Growing season (days)172d 182d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)86th 40th

Outdoors & history

GraysonWilliamsburg

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land0.3%1.6%

Settled1844 1819

National Register places—5

Archive photos9 12

Famous people born here2 8

Community

GraysonWilliamsburg

Library hours a week28 hrs 54 hrs

Colleges in town1 1

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

129 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

GraysonKY WilliamsburgKY

Grayson ↔ Williamsburg129 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Kentucky average

GraysonWilliamsburg

People

Population 3,778Lowest 5,270Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -9.1%Lowest KY: +3.8% +1.5%Highest KY: +3.8%

Median age 30.3±2.4Highest 23% below KY 24.8±2.5Lowest 37% below KY

Kids under 18 22.2%±5.8Highest KY: 22.6% 16.8%±4.3Lowest KY: 22.6%

Grayson and Williamsburg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 16.7%±3.9Highest KY: 17.3% 13.4%±3.7Lowest KY: 17.3%

Grayson and Williamsburg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 18.7%Lowest KY: 27.6% 21.2%Highest KY: 27.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 10.7%±2.6Lowest KY: 5.5% 31.8%±3Highest KY: 5.5%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $27,542±$6kLowest 57% below KY $38,147±$13kHighest 40% below KY

Williamsburg and Grayson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $136,900±$30kHighest 33% below KY $113,300±$58kLowest 45% below KY

Grayson and Williamsburg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $745±$107Lowest 23% below KY $793±$92Highest 18% below KY

Williamsburg and Grayson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $872Lowest 44% below KY $1,021Highest 34% below KY

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 56.6%±17.5Highest KY: 45.4% 44.9%±14.5Lowest KY: 45.4%

Grayson and Williamsburg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 37.9%Highest KY: 16.1% 30.9%Lowest KY: 16.1%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 39%Highest KY: 68.3% 35.9%Lowest KY: 68.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1982Highest same as KY 1981Lowest 1 yr older than KY

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 minHighest about the KY average 13 minLowest 46% below KY

Work from home 2.8%±2.3Lowest KY: 10.2% 9.6%±5.3Highest KY: 10.2%

Williamsburg and Grayson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 24.5%Lowest 32.2%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 18.3 miHighest 15.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 2.32Lowest 2.93Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Ashland (11%)Corbin (6%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WilliamsburgFew work in Grayson

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.3%Lowest 1.6%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 0.4 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Highest 2Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 82.8Highest 59.9Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #65 of 126 in KY #117 of 126 in KY

School district Carter CountyWhitley County

High school in town East Carter County High SchoolColonel Academy

Students per teacherat that high school 18.6Lowest 172.0Highest

Kentucky average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Grayson neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Grayson’s Town Square.

Williamsburg neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Williamsburg’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Grayson

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Barbourville3,146 people · $182K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Grayson vs Williamsburg

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $290 more a month in Grayson

Williamsburg places higher on 12 of 21 KY lists

What daily life feels like in each

129 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Grayson and Williamsburg

Towns like Grayson

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