The 10 Worst Louisville Suburbs For 2023


We used data and Friday Night Science to identify the worst suburbs of Louisville for 2023. The worst Louisville suburbs are Louisville and Louisville.

The suburbs of Louisville call to all types of people looking to escape city live. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Louisville to avoid all the hustle and bustle.

So the question arises, do the suburbs maintain a semblance of the larger-than-life appeal of their more famous neighbor?

Today, we’ll use science and data to determine which Louisville ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Louisville area if you will. Realistically, you can’t expect all the suburbs to live up to Louisville proper, although Hurstbourne certainly tries.

Of course, not all suburbs of Louisville are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones..

We examined the 35 biggest suburbs of Louisville to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Kentucky lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Louisville in terms of quality of life.

Here are the 10 worst suburbs around Louisville for 2023:

  1. Louisville
  2. Louisville
  3. Louisville
  4. Louisville
  5. Lebanon Junction
  6. West Buechel
  7. Radcliff
  8. Brandenburg
  9. Shively
  10. Clarksville

What’s the worst suburb of Louisville? Louisville ranks as the worst suburb of Louisville for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Louisville that need a pick-me-up. And remember, don’t blame the messenger.

Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Kentucky check out the best places in Kentucky overall or the worst.

And remember, there are some good places to live around Louisville too.



For more Kentucky reading, check out:

The 10 Worst Louisville Suburbs To Live For 2023

Louisville, KY

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,108
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $34,654 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.7% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $103,400 (4th lowest)
More on Louisville:  Data | Photos

We’ll get the ball rolling with Louisville, the absolute worst place to live around Louisville according to the data.

And in the world of worst rankings, Louisville beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Louisville area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 3rd worst when it comes to home values.

But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Louisville.

You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area, there aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.

Louisville, KY

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,108
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $34,654 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.7% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $103,400 (4th lowest)
More on Louisville:  Data | Photos

Welcome to Louisville. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.

This city is 2.3 miles to Louisville. Income levels here are the lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $34,654 a year, which doesn’t go a long ways even on a shoestring budget.

But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.

Louisville, KY

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,108
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $34,654 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.7% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $103,400 (4th lowest)
More on Louisville:  Data | Photos

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Louisville suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Louisville on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.

In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school drop out rate is poor compared to other Louisville suburbs.

But at least there are nice parks to bring the kids during the day.

Louisville, KY

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,108
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $34,654 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.7% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $103,400 (4th lowest)
More on Louisville:  Data | Photos

If you live in Louisville, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the lowest Louisville suburb when it comes to residents making money.

Not only that, but this is the 2nd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Louisville. Remember, we looked at 35 cities for this study.

Louisville is about 4.3 miles to downtown.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,214
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $47,500 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 11.7% (highest)
Median Home Value: $113,400 (5th lowest)
More on Lebanon Junction:  Data

Lebanon Junction has the distinction of being a Louisville suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Lebanon Junction has the 5th lowest home values in the metro Louisville area, where the median price is $113,400. To put that into perspective, in Hurstbourne, the median income is $199,261, which is the best in the area.

Lebanon Junction has an unemployment rate of 11.74% which ranks worst.

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,974
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $44,757 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.1% (18th highest)
Median Home Value: $95,000 (lowest)
More on West Buechel:  Data

West Buechel has 1,974 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)

Incomes are towards the bottom and the poverty rate sits at 16.717325227963528%.

Radcliff, KY

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 22,839
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $48,325 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.8% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $130,100 (7th lowest)
More on Radcliff:  Data | Photos

Ah, Radcliff. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Louisville.

It’s the place with the 4th most out of work residents in the Louisville metro area (8.83%).

Brandenburg, KY

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 2,857
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Income: $47,440 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $167,500 (14th lowest)
More on Brandenburg:  Data | Photos

Brandenburg is a city about 29.9 miles from Louisville, but Louisville probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb for 2018.

You’d be hard pressed to find a worse place to live. Brandenburg has the 24th most uninsured people, 6th worst incomes, and has the 9th highest unemployment rate (6.0%) in the entire Louisville metro area.

Homes only cost $167,500 for a reason. That’s cheap for Louisville standards.

Shively, KY

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 15,638
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $41,104 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.1% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $114,800 (6th lowest)
More on Shively:  Data | Photos

If you absolutely have to live near Louisville, then Shively might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Louisville suburb.

About 6.11% of residents are out of work.

10. Clarksville

Clarksville, IN

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 22,169
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 1)
Median Income: $49,892 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (15th highest)
Median Home Value: $135,700 (8th lowest)
More on Clarksville:

Rounding out the ten worst Louisville suburbs to call home is Clarksville.

Located 8.5 miles outside the city, Clarksvilles is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 15th highest unemployment rate (4.79%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Louisville for 2023

To figure out how bad a Louisville suburb is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2017-2021, this is the criteria we used:

  • High unemployment rate
  • Low median household incomes
  • Low population density (no things to do)
  • Low home values
  • A lot of high school drop outs
  • High poverty
  • High rate of uninsured families

FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Louisville.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 1,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 35 suburbs to evaluate around Louisville.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 35 in each category, where 1 was the “worst”.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index the “Worst Suburb near Louisville.” We’re lookin’ at you, Louisville.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the worst of the worst. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from worst to best.

Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Louisville.

Summary: The areas around Louisville where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023

Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Louisville with Louisville casting itself ahead of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Louisville aren’t all bad. Hurstbourne takes the cake as the best place to live around Louisville.

  • Hurstbourne
  • Indian Hills
  • Anchorage

For more Kentucky reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Louisville Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Louisville 6,108 $34,654 $103,400
2 Louisville 6,108 $34,654 $103,400
3 Louisville 6,108 $34,654 $103,400
4 Louisville 6,108 $34,654 $103,400
5 Lebanon Junction 2,214 $47,500 $113,400
6 West Buechel 1,974 $44,757 $95,000
7 Radcliff 22,839 $48,325 $130,100
8 Brandenburg 2,857 $47,440 $167,500
9 Shively 15,638 $41,104 $114,800
10 Clarksville 22,169 $49,892 $135,700
11 Corydon 3,094 $44,831 $99,200
12 New Albany 37,350 $49,429 $139,500
13 Charlestown 7,859 $58,987 $142,900
14 Shelbyville 16,932 $70,751 $192,900
15 Hillview 8,638 $58,827 $136,800
16 Jeffersonville 49,178 $60,110 $157,300
17 Shepherdsville 13,918 $62,055 $162,600
18 Sellersburg 9,686 $59,130 $168,400
19 La Grange 9,901 $74,832 $210,600
20 Crestwood 6,046 $98,797 $277,700
21 Georgetown 36,281 $66,942 $186,300
22 Middletown 9,473 $73,638 $241,600
23 Lyndon 11,033 $61,078 $219,400
24 Mount Washington 17,723 $83,216 $198,300
25 Simpsonville 2,932 $85,972 $203,500
26 Jeffersontown 28,800 $75,985 $196,500
27 Graymoor-Devondale 2,886 $76,136 $266,200
28 St. Matthews 17,588 $72,910 $268,400
29 Douglass Hills 5,480 $83,592 $278,600
30 Prospect 4,653 $160,960 $426,300
31 Orchard Grass Hills 1,986 $91,000 $220,700
32 Windy Hills 2,381 $114,120 $316,600
33 Anchorage 2,607 $199,261 $707,100
34 Indian Hills 2,878 $163,750 $609,100
35 Hurstbourne 4,644 $107,423 $441,200

About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.