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These Are The 10 Best Places In Kentucky To Get A Job

By Chris Kolmar
Jan. 24, 2017

Find a Job You Really Want In

If you’re starting to look for a job in Kentucky, you’ve come to the right place.

You might think off the top of your head that Frankfort would be an excellent place to find a job. And while the capital does offer many opportunities, it isn’t the best in the state according to the data.

Here at Zippia, we aim to answer questions like this using cold hard facts and analysis. So we set our sights on determining the best place in Kentucky to find a job.

After analyzing all 60 plus places in Kentucky, we came up with this list as the best places for jobs in the Bluegrass State:

  1. Erlanger
  2. Elsmere
  3. Union
  4. Edgewood
  5. Independence
  6. Florence
  7. Flatwoods
  8. Jeffersontown
  9. Alexandria
  10. Shepherdsville

So listen up Pikeville as we explain how we created this ranking, you could learn some things from the rest of the state.

How We Determined The Best Places For Jobs In Bluegrass State

We first researched detailed data on all places in Kentucky. However, in order to properly compare places in an apples-to-apples manner, we set a minimum population threshold of 5,000 people.

This left us with 60 places in Kentucky to analyze.

We then ranked each place across a number of criteria from one to 60, with one being the best.

We took the average rank across all criteria, with the place posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Place For Jobs In Kentucky”.

The criteria we looked at were:

  • Unemployment rate
  • Recent job growth
  • Future job growth
  • Median household income

Sources of criteria include the the BLS and Sperling’s Best Places.

If your city or town isn’t among the top 10, jump down to the bottom of the post to see a detailed chart and a downloadable file of all the data.

Otherwise, learn how these cities moved up the career ladder.

1. Erlanger

Population: 18,084 Unemployment Rate: 5.50%
Recent Job Growth: 1.63%
Future Job Growth: 37.80%

2. Elsmere

Population: 8,430 Unemployment Rate: 5.50%
Recent Job Growth: 1.63%
Future Job Growth: 37.80%

3. Union

Population: 5,357Unemployment Rate: 5.10%
Recent Job Growth: 1.63%
Future Job Growth: 38.20%

4. Edgewood

Population: 8,651Unemployment Rate: 5.50%
Recent Job Growth: 1.63%
Future Job Growth: 37.80%

5. Independence

Population: 24,586Unemployment Rate: 5.50%
Recent Job Growth: 1.63%
Future Job Growth: 37.80%

6. Florence

Population: 30,201 Unemployment Rate: 4.90%
Recent Job Growth: 1.63%
Future Job Growth: 38.40%

7. Flatwoods

Population: 7,465Unemployment Rate: 7.00%
Recent Job Growth: 1.12%
Future Job Growth: 35.20%

8. Jeffersontown

Population: 26,694Unemployment Rate: 6.20%
Recent Job Growth: 0.25%
Future Job Growth: 34.30%

9. Alexandria

Population: 8,494Unemployment Rate: 5.60%
Recent Job Growth: 1.63%
Future Job Growth: 37.70%

10. Shepherdsville

Population: 11,209Unemployment Rate: 6.60%
Recent Job Growth: 0.25%
Future Job Growth: 33.90%

Detailed List Of The Best Places In Kentucky For Jobs

City Rank Population Unemployment Rate Recent Job Growth Future Job Growth
Erlanger 1 18,084 5.50% 1.63% 37.80%
Elsmere 2 8,430 5.50% 1.63% 37.80%
Union 3 5,357 5.10% 1.63% 38.20%
Edgewood 4 8,651 5.50% 1.63% 37.80%
Independence 5 24,586 5.50% 1.63% 37.80%
Florence 6 30,201 4.90% 1.63% 38.40%
Flatwoods 7 7,465 7.00% 1.12% 35.20%
Jeffersontown 8 26,694 6.20% 0.25% 34.30%
Alexandria 9 8,494 5.60% 1.63% 37.70%
Shepherdsville 10 11,209 6.60% 0.25% 33.90%
Middletown 11 7,164 6.90% 0.25% 33.60%
Shelbyville 12 14,081 5.50% 0.25% 35.00%
Ashland 13 21,611 5.90% 1.13% 36.40%
Dayton 14 5,364 5.60% 1.63% 37.70%
Henderson 15 28,728 5.80% -0.50% 33.20%
Lyndon 16 10,992 6.90% 0.25% 33.60%
Newport 17 15,398 5.60% 1.63% 37.70%
Bellevue 18 5,959 5.60% 1.63% 37.70%
Hillview 19 8,839 6.60% 0.25% 33.90%
Owensboro 20 57,361 6.00% 0.15% 34.30%
Franklin 21 8,431 6.00% 0.04% 34.10%
Covington 22 40,776 6.20% 1.63% 37.10%
Bardstown 23 12,291 7.00% 0.25% 33.50%
Hopkinsville 24 31,798 8.50% 0.75% 33.00%
Elizabethtown 25 28,254 6.70% -0.36% 32.60%
Campbellsville 26 10,138 7.40% 0.77% 34.10%
Shively 27 15,282 6.90% 0.25% 33.60%
Louisville 28 741,285 6.90% 0.25% 33.60%
Versailles 29 8,678 5.70% -0.68% 32.90%
Lawrenceburg 30 10,711 6.20% -2.32% 29.20%
Radcliff 31 22,064 6.70% -0.36% 32.60%
Georgetown 32 29,016 6.00% -0.67% 32.70%
Paris 33 9,298 6.20% -0.67% 32.50%
Harrodsburg 34 8,323 7.10% -0.37% 32.20%
Nicholasville 35 27,865 6.40% -0.67% 32.30%
Princeton 36 6,331 5.90% -1.06% 32.00%
Lebanon 37 5,571 6.80% -0.68% 31.80%
Madisonville 38 19,745 7.10% -0.83% 31.20%
Russellville 39 6,979 6.00% -1.09% 31.80%
London 40 6,797 8.00% -0.99% 30.00%
Cynthiana 41 6,406 6.60% -0.85% 31.70%
Winchester 42 18,314 6.90% -0.67% 31.80%
Glasgow 43 14,026 7.10% -1.39% 30.10%
Murray 44 17,706 7.30% -7.43% 17.80%
Monticello 45 6,197 11.40% -2.06% 24.50%
Somerset 46 11,254 8.40% -2.39% 26.80%
Frankfort 47 26,745 6.60% -2.32% 28.80%
Berea 48 13,651 6.10% -3.12% 27.70%
Corbin 49 7,010 9.10% -2.27% 26.40%
Richmond 50 31,508 6.10% -3.12% 27.70%
Williamsburg 51 5,258 9.10% -2.27% 26.40%
Leitchfield 52 6,721 9.10% -1.84% 27.20%
Maysville 53 9,018 8.10% -2.14% 27.60%
Paducah 54 25,081 8.00% -0.91% 30.20%
Hazard 55 5,117 10.90% -1.52% 26.10%
Morehead 56 6,898 6.90% -3.70% 25.70%
Danville 57 16,212 8.40% -2.35% 26.90%
Middlesborough 58 10,235 13.10% -1.57% 23.80%
Mayfield 59 10,048 8.50% -2.27% 27.00%
Pikeville 60 6,864 11.30% -3.01% 22.70%
Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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