IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in McDowell, KY
McDowell is a tiny town of 718 people in Floyd County, Kentucky. It's about 66 miles from Kingsport, TN and 151 miles from Cincinnati, OH, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 43°F, with about 2 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $86k and rent runs about $464 a month.
718people
$86kTypical home
$464/moRent
84° / 43°Summer / winter
2"Snow
209Sunny days
125Rain/snow days
Is McDowell right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Tiny town of 718
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 290 people per sq mi
- 151 mi to Cincinnati, OH
- 66 mi to Kingsport, TN
- 66 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $86k (≈$542/mo)
- Median rent $464/mo
- Median household income $28k
- Property tax about 0.9% of value
- 39.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 84°F
- Winter highs around 43°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 209 sunny days a year (68 totally clear)
- 156 cloudy days a year
- 53 of 90 winter days are gray
- 125 days a year with rain or snow
- 2" of snow a year
- 1 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 6 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (45 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (156 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 36
- 33% of households have kids
- 18% are 65 or older
- 17% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 32 min
- 22% walk or take transit to work
- 63 mi to HTS airport
- 134 mi to TYS (major hub)
- 68 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 54% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1977
- 80% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 1,066 ft
- 299 mi to the ocean
- 163 mi to a big lake
- 22 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 52 mi to the nearest ski area
- 20 mi to the nearest campground
- 5 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 38 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 5 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 3 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 13 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 32% of Kentucky districts (reading)
- 7 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 2 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 37 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 6 mi to the nearest vet
- 64 mi to the nearest dog park
- 6 congregations per 10k people
- 9 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Floyd County: R+59 in 2024
- Kentucky: R+31 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Limited data: this place is small enough that most of its Census numbers (rent, home value, income, age) are blended with county figures. Treat its match as a rough guide.