Elizabethtown Named Kentucky's #1 Best Place to Live (Again)

Key Takeaways

• Elizabethtown named Kentucky's #1 best place to live by U.S. News & World Report — second year running, top 127 nationally, #71 best place to retire.
• 7 Brew Coffee is breaking ground between Wendy's and Shoney's on the former Cracker Barrel lot.
• A wave of new coffee is coming: Starbucks at Kroger, Human Bean at Publix, another Scooter's near John Hardin, and Sweet Spot Donuts & Coffee on Buford Lane.
• Chicken Salad Chick slips to 2027 (no location yet); Yummy Bowl lists Etown but hasn't locked a site.
• Sabor Cubano holds its grand opening this weekend.

Summary

Nate Bryan led with a number worth bragging about: for the second consecutive year, Elizabethtown is the #1 best place to live in Kentucky according to U.S. News & World Report, which ranks on straight data rather than polls. The city also placed in the top 127 nationally and at #71 best place to retire in America.

From there it was a busy business week — 7 Brew breaking ground amid a broader coffee surge, a couple of anticipated chains slipping their timelines, and a Cuban restaurant opening its doors. Nate also rolled out a full Hardin County Summer Camp Guide for local parents.

Watch this segment: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uXCcUvmsODQ Full episode: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rd94AOh2eF8 Read the full S2026E22 recap: https://hardinlocal.com/podcast/s2026e22-pillar/

Full Article

"This is just straight data," Nate Bryan said of the U.S. News & World Report ranking — "they're not doing polls or likes or comments." By that measure, Elizabethtown came in #1 best place to live in Kentucky for the second year in a row, landed in the top 127 nationally, and ranked #71 best place to retire in America. The supporting figures: a population just under 33,000, a median age of 36.8, a median household income of $60,366, a median home value of $254,813, and roughly a 17-minute average commute.

The one number that sparked debate was the reported $774 median rent. Rachel Brantingham, the show's housing expert, gently pushed back — her read is that average rents locally run closer to $850 to $1,000 — while both agreed the figure may reflect a data pull from a bit earlier and that a wave of new apartments has pushed some older units to drop rents to compete. As Nate put it, the rankings are written for a national audience: "I was talking to a guy who moved here from California, and his perspective is, this is super cheap."

On the growth front, 7 Brew Coffee is breaking ground — the fences are up between Wendy's and Shoney's on the former Cracker Barrel lot — as part of a genuine coffee surge. Nate ticked through the list: Starbucks coming to Kroger, Human Bean to Publix, another Scooter's near John Hardin, and Sweet Spot Donuts & Coffee on Buford Lane. Not everything is on schedule, though: Chicken Salad Chick has pushed to 2027 with no announced location, and Yummy Bowl, a Mongolian stir-fry concept, lists Etown on its website but hasn't locked a site. On the win column, Sabor Cubano celebrates its grand opening this weekend.

Then came the school's-out bonus: the full Hardin County Summer Camp Guide. Nate and the team compiled every camp they could find — sports, art, cooking, STEM, beauty and fashion, drama, and Scouts — into a guide organized both by date and by category, now live at HardinLocal.com. The first camp (Faith Volleyball) starts this week, and Nate flagged a standout: the free Mitchell Henry Football Camp on June 11 at the Elizabethtown High School football stadium, honoring the late WKU and NFL player. "If you want your kids to have fun and jump around," he said of the wider list, "it's probably in there."