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KYKentucky rankings

Towns with the best public schools in Kentucky

Ranked by how far each town's public schools score above or below the Kentucky average in math and reading proficiency, weighted by enrollment. 126 towns with 2,500+ residents.

U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-yearTest scores SY2020–21

Grayson
Kentucky · Best schools

Where Grayson lands: #65 of 126

−1.1 pts vs. the KY average in math + reading · Visit Grayson →

Anchorage 1 Anchorage +42.7 pts Math 79.7% · Reading 76.7% Pikeville 2 Pikeville +29.0 pts Math 66.7% · Reading 62.2% Fort Thomas 3 Fort Thomas +27.4 pts Math 62.6% · Reading 63.3%
#Townvs. state averageMathReading
1 Anchorage AnchorageAnchorage Independent +42.7 pts 79.7% 76.7%
2 Pikeville PikevillePikeville Independent +29.0 pts 66.7% 62.2%
3 Fort Thomas Fort ThomasFort Thomas Independent +27.4 pts 62.6% 63.3%
4 Fort Mitchell Fort MitchellBeechwood Independent +25.1 pts 59.6% 61.5%
5 Map of Francisville FrancisvilleBoone County +22.5 pts 57% 59%
6 Union UnionBoone County +19.0 pts 54.3% 54.6%
7 Murray MurrayMurray Independent +18.2 pts 51.3% 56.1%
8 Hurstbourne HurstbourneJefferson County +18.0 pts 46% 61%
9 Map of Indian Hills Indian HillsJefferson County +16.5 pts 46% 58%
10 Crestwood CrestwoodOldham County +15.9 pts 48.2% 54.7%
11 Map of Massac MassacMcCracken County +15.6 pts 49.2% 52.9%
12 Hebron HebronBoone County +14.6 pts 46% 54.2%
13 Simpsonville SimpsonvilleShelby County +13.0 pts 49% 48%
14 London LondonLaurel County +12.4 pts 44.4% 51.4%
15 Map of Cold Spring Cold SpringCampbell County +12.2 pts 48.3% 47.1%
16 Map of Hendron HendronMcCracken County +12.2 pts 45% 50.5%
17 Map of Villa Hills Villa HillsKenton County +12.0 pts 49% 46%
18 Map of Eddyville EddyvilleLyon County +10.2 pts 41% 50.4%
19 Map of Edgewood EdgewoodKenton County +9.5 pts 40.6% 49.3%
20 Somerset SomersetPulaski County +9.3 pts 41.1% 48.5%
21 Versailles VersaillesWoodford County +9.3 pts 42.1% 47.5%
22 Flatwoods FlatwoodsRussell Independent +8.6 pts 40.3% 47.8%
23 Danville DanvilleBoyle County +8.5 pts 39.6% 48.4%
24 Map of Claryville ClaryvilleCampbell County +8.3 pts 41.7% 45.8%
25 Brandenburg BrandenburgMeade County +8.1 pts 41.4% 45.7%
26 Independence IndependenceKenton County +7.9 pts 41.7% 45.2%
27 Map of Buckner BucknerOldham County +7.7 pts 41.1% 45.3%
28 Middletown MiddletownJefferson County +7.2 pts 41.1% 44.3%
29 Alexandria AlexandriaCampbell County +6.9 pts 38.9% 45.9%
30 Wilmore WilmoreJessamine County +6.7 pts 39.5% 44.8%
31 Junction City Junction CityBoyle County +6.5 pts 37% 47%
32 Map of Douglass Hills Douglass HillsJefferson County +5.0 pts 32% 49%
33 Corbin CorbinCorbin Independent +4.9 pts 36.9% 43.9%
34 Burlington BurlingtonBoone County +4.5 pts 35.7% 44.2%
35 Map of Mount Washington Mount WashingtonBullitt County +4.3 pts 35.1% 44.5%
36 Beaver Dam Beaver DamOhio County +4.3 pts 31.5% 48.1%
37 Elizabethtown ElizabethtownHardin County +4.2 pts 32.4% 47%
38 Walton WaltonWalton-Verona Independent +4.2 pts 34.4% 45.1%
39 Mayfield MayfieldGraves County +3.9 pts 36.5% 42.2%
40 Hartford HartfordOhio County +3.8 pts 34.2% 44.5%
41 La Grange La GrangeOldham County +3.5 pts 42% 36%
42 Lexington-Fayette urban countyFayette County +3.1 pts 34.8% 42.4%
43 Tompkinsville TompkinsvilleMonroe County +3.1 pts 33.4% 43.9%
44 Crittenden CrittendenGrant County +3.0 pts 40% 37%
45 Mount Sterling Mount SterlingMontgomery County +2.7 pts 30.9% 45.4%
46 Glasgow GlasgowBarren County +2.6 pts 33.2% 43%
47 Marion MarionCrittenden County +2.6 pts 34.9% 41.3%
48 Map of Lawrenceburg LawrenceburgAnderson County +2.3 pts 34.2% 41.4%
49 Nicholasville NicholasvilleJessamine County +2.2 pts 31.9% 43.4%
50 Richmond RichmondMadison County +2.1 pts 29.5% 45.7%
51 Calvert City Calvert CityMarshall County +1.5 pts 32% 42%
52 Ashland AshlandAshland Independent +1.3 pts 31.1% 42.4%
53 Berea BereaMadison County +1.3 pts 30% 43.5%
54 Map of Taylor Mill Taylor MillKenton County +1.3 pts 34.7% 38.9%
55 Map of Reidland ReidlandMcCracken County +1.3 pts 33% 40.5%
56 Georgetown GeorgetownScott County +1.1 pts 32.3% 41%
57 Map of Madisonville MadisonvilleHopkins County +0.8 pts 29.8% 42.8%
58 Louisa LouisaLawrence County +0.7 pts 27.2% 45.1%
59 Russell Springs Russell SpringsRussell County +0.5 pts 29% 42.9%
60 Benton BentonMarshall County −0.8 pts 29.3% 40.1%
61 Hodgenville HodgenvilleLaRue County −0.8 pts 28.4% 41%
62 Owensboro OwensboroOwensboro Independent −0.9 pts 30.1% 39%
63 Princeton PrincetonCaldwell County −1.0 pts 32% 37%
64 Map of Pioneer Village Pioneer VillageBullitt County −1.0 pts 32% 37%
65 Grayson GraysonCarter County −1.1 pts 27.8% 41%
66 Springfield SpringfieldWashington County −1.1 pts 30.9% 37.9%
67 Florence FlorenceBoone County −1.2 pts 30.2% 38.3%
68 Map of Eminence EminenceEminence Independent −1.3 pts 24.2% 44.2%
69 Frankfort FrankfortFranklin County −1.4 pts 29.2% 39.1%
70 Paducah PaducahPaducah Independent −1.7 pts 26.8% 40.8%
71 Barbourville BarbourvilleKnox County −1.8 pts 26.1% 41.3%
72 Hazard HazardPerry County −1.9 pts 26% 41.2%
73 Henderson HendersonHenderson County −2.0 pts 33% 33.9%
74 Bardstown BardstownNelson County −2.0 pts 27.2% 39.8%
75 Flemingsburg FlemingsburgFleming County −2.2 pts 28.2% 38.4%
76 Morehead MoreheadRowan County −2.3 pts 27.4% 39%
77 Leitchfield LeitchfieldGrayson County −2.3 pts 26.3% 40.1%
78 Bowling Green Bowling GreenWarren County −2.4 pts 28.9% 37.2%
79 Map of Vine Grove Vine GroveHardin County −2.4 pts 27.1% 39.1%
80 Lancaster LancasterGarrard County −2.4 pts 27.8% 38.5%
81 Lebanon LebanonMarion County −2.9 pts 27.9% 37.2%
82 Map of Franklin FranklinSimpson County −3.3 pts 27.5% 37%
83 SorghoDaviess County −3.5 pts 27% 37%
84 Maysville MaysvilleMason County −3.6 pts 24% 39.7%
85 Winchester WinchesterClark County −3.8 pts 27.3% 36.2%
86 Cadiz CadizTrigg County −3.9 pts 25.8% 37.3%
87 Map of Greenville GreenvilleMuhlenberg County −4.7 pts 26.5% 35.2%
88 Map of Campbellsville CampbellsvilleTaylor County −5.1 pts 23.4% 37.4%
89 Map of Ludlow LudlowLudlow Independent −5.1 pts 26.5% 34.3%
90 Williamstown WilliamstownWilliamstown Independent −5.3 pts 28.4% 32.1%
91 Harrodsburg HarrodsburgMercer County −5.4 pts 25.7% 34.6%
92 Paintsville PaintsvilleJohnson County −5.4 pts 23.1% 37.1%
93 Hopkinsville HopkinsvilleChristian County −5.7 pts 26.2% 33.4%
94 Columbia ColumbiaAdair County −5.8 pts 23.5% 35.9%
95 WestwoodFairview Independent −5.9 pts 24.7% 34.4%
96 Map of Hillview HillviewBullitt County −6.0 pts 20.8% 38.1%
97 Providence ProvidenceWebster County −6.0 pts 22% 37%
98 Lyndon LyndonJefferson County −6.3 pts 21.9% 36.6%
99 Russellville RussellvilleRussellville Independent −6.5 pts 24.6% 33.4%
100 Shepherdsville ShepherdsvilleBullitt County −6.7 pts 25.4% 32.1%
101 Scottsville ScottsvilleAllen County −6.7 pts 26.6% 31%
102 Cynthiana CynthianaHarrison County −7.2 pts 22.6% 33.9%
103 RadcliffHardin County −7.6 pts 22.3% 33.5%
104 Monticello MonticelloWayne County −7.6 pts 21.1% 34.8%
105 Map of Dayton DaytonDayton Independent −7.7 pts 23.1% 32.5%
106 Erlanger ErlangerErlanger-Elsmere Independent −7.8 pts 23.9% 31.4%
107 Map of Stanford StanfordLincoln County −7.9 pts 20.2% 35%
108 West Liberty West LibertyMorgan County −8.0 pts 21.7% 33.2%
109 Paris ParisBourbon County −8.4 pts 24% 30.2%
110 Louisville/Jefferson County metro governmentJefferson County −9.3 pts 19.7% 32.6%
111 Shelbyville ShelbyvilleShelby County −9.6 pts 20.6% 31.1%
112 Covington CovingtonCovington Independent −10.1 pts 20.2% 30.6%
113 Jeffersontown JeffersontownJefferson County −11.1 pts 18.3% 30.4%
114 St. Matthews St. MatthewsJefferson County −11.1 pts 14.9% 33.8%
115 Middlesborough MiddlesboroughMiddlesboro Independent −11.5 pts 16.2% 31.7%
116 Bellevue BellevueBellevue Independent −11.8 pts 15.4% 32%
117 Williamsburg WilliamsburgWilliamsburg Independent −12.4 pts 15.2% 31%
118 Stanton StantonPowell County −13.2 pts 13.2% 31.5%
119 Map of Southgate SouthgateSouthgate Independent −13.5 pts 12% 32%
120 Map of Shively ShivelyJefferson County −13.9 pts 14.8% 28.3%
121 Map of Elsmere ElsmereErlanger-Elsmere Independent −14.4 pts 17.4% 24.7%
122 Newport NewportNewport Independent −15.6 pts 14.3% 25.5%
123 Prestonsburg PrestonsburgFloyd County −15.9 pts 11.6% 27.6%
124 Morganfield MorganfieldUnion County −16.0 pts 22% 17%
125 Carrollton CarrolltonCarroll County −17.9 pts 13.5% 21.7%
126 Cave City Cave CityCaverna Independent −25.8 pts 7.5% 12%

How this ranking works

For every public school in a town we take its latest math and reading proficiency and subtract the Kentucky average for the same test. The town’s score is the average of those gaps, weighted by each school’s enrollment, so a big high school counts more than a small annex. Private schools aren’t included.

Each state writes its own tests, so these scores compare towns within Kentucky only. We don’t rank a town unless at least 150 students in its schools were tested. Test data: EDFacts via Urban Institute Education Data Portal (SY2020-21).

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

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