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%

Williamsburg$710/mo

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

Grayson$990/mo

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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

12Williamsburg

7Grayson

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

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

Left end = #1 in Kentucky. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Williamsburg’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

WilliamsburgGrayson

Snow a year11″18″

January low25°F 22°F

July high87°F 87°F

Growing season (days)182d 172d

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

Outdoors & history

WilliamsburgGrayson

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land1.6%0.3%

Settled1819 1844

National Register places5 —

Archive photos12 9

Famous people born here8 2

Community

WilliamsburgGrayson

Library hours a week54 hrs 28 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.

WilliamsburgKY GraysonKY

Williamsburg ↔ Grayson129 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

WilliamsburgGrayson

People

Population 5,270Highest 3,778Lowest

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

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

Kids under 18 16.8%±4.3Lowest KY: 22.6% 22.2%±5.8Highest 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+ 13.4%±3.7Lowest KY: 17.3% 16.7%±3.9Highest 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+ 21.2%Highest KY: 27.6% 18.7%Lowest KY: 27.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $38,147±$13kHighest 40% below KY $27,542±$6kLowest 57% 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 $113,300±$58kLowest 45% below KY $136,900±$30kHighest 33% 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 $793±$92Highest 18% below KY $745±$107Lowest 23% 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 $1,021Highest 34% below KY $872Lowest 44% below KY

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 44.9%±14.5Lowest KY: 45.4% 56.6%±17.5Highest 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 30.9%Lowest KY: 16.1% 37.9%Highest KY: 16.1%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 9.6%±5.3Highest KY: 10.2% 2.8%±2.3Lowest 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 32.2%Highest 24.5%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 15.3 miLowest 18.3 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in GraysonFew work in Williamsburg

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.6%Highest 0.3%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.4 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Lowest 4Highest

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

Schools

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

School district Whitley CountyCarter County

High school in town Colonel AcademyEast Carter County High School

Students per teacherat that high school 172.0Highest 18.6Lowest

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.

Williamsburg neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Williamsburg’s Town Square.

Grayson neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Grayson’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Williamsburg

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Carrollton3,915 people · $113K 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.

Williamsburg vs Grayson

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 Williamsburg and Grayson

Towns like Williamsburg

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