Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2025
Bardstown, KY Crime Grade
How Bardstown grades for violent crime against every other reporting U.S. city — and against the rest of Kentucky — based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.
National
2/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
Kentucky
2/10
vs. Kentucky cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2025, the violent crime rate in Bardstown, KY was 56.2 per 100,000 residents (8 incidents over a population of 14,238). That puts Bardstown 83% below the U.S. rate of 325.3 and 72% below the Kentucky statewide rate of 198.5.
That ranks Bardstown #590 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 84% of them, and #7 of 41 in Kentucky. Violent crime is down 66% year over year and down 53% over the last five years.
Bardstown, KY crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- A (2/10)
- Kentucky Grade
- A (2/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 56.2 / 100k
- National rank
- #590 of 3,771
- KY rank
- #7 of 41
- Safer than
- 84% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- down 66%
- 5-year change
- down 53%
- Population
- 14,238
- Reporting agency
- Bardstown Police Department
- Data year
- 2025 · FBI UCR
Reported by Bardstown Police Department (FBI ORI KY0900100) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
About Bardstown, KY
Also known as
- Salem Town
- Beardstown
- Bards Town
- Bairdstown
History
This community was settled in approximately 1776 and named Salem or Salem Town. David and William Bard came to the area about 1780 after the former brother was granted a 1,000 acre tract of land by Governor Patrick Henry. KY gained statehood in June 1792. William Bard, a surveyor by profession, platted the town and it became the county seat of Nelson County in 1782 (KY-T1/p14). Incorporated in 1838.
Location
Bardstown is located in central Nelson County, about 51 km (32mi) SSE of Louisville.
Name history sourced from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) — public-domain federal geographic-names data.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Bardstown (red), Kentucky (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Bardstown vs. U.S., 2025 — by offense
Rates per 100,000 residents for each offense category.
Full data, last 5 years
Rates per 100,000 residents. Raw counts in parentheses.
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 119.6(16) | 138.6(19) | 115.8(16) | 165.3(23) | 56.2(8) |
| Murder | 7.5(1) | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) |
| Rape | 22.4(3) | 21.9(3) | 36.2(5) | 28.7(4) | 14.0(2) |
| Robbery | 52.3(7) | 51.1(7) | 14.5(2) | 50.3(7) | 14.0(2) |
| Aggravated assault | 37.4(5) | 65.6(9) | 65.1(9) | 86.2(12) | 28.1(4) |
| Property crime | 2459.3(329) | 1713.8(235) | 2286.5(316) | 1429.9(199) | 1699.7(242) |
| Burglary | 321.4(43) | 255.3(35) | 376.3(52) | 194.0(27) | 295.0(42) |
| Larceny | 1741.7(233) | 1225.2(168) | 1649.8(228) | 1049.1(146) | 1285.3(183) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 373.7(50) | 233.4(32) | 253.3(35) | 179.6(25) | 105.4(15) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Bardstown, KY Crime Grade?
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting via the Crime Data Explorer. Agency-level data, pulled directly. No third-party aggregators, no proprietary score.
- What metric does the Bardstown Crime Grade use?
- Violent crime rate per 100,000 residents (murder + rape + robbery + aggravated assault), most recent fully-reported year.
- How is the national decile for Bardstown calculated?
- Bardstown's rate placed against all FBI-reporting U.S. cities with population ≥ 25,000. 1 = safest.
- How is the Kentucky state decile calculated?
- Same calculation restricted to Kentucky cities with population ≥ 10,000.
- How do decile scores convert to a letter grade?
- 1–3 = A · 4–5 = B · 6–7 = C · 8 = D · 9–10 = F.
- How often is the Bardstown Crime Grade refreshed?
- Twice a year. The FBI typically releases the prior year's full data each September.
- What are the limits of this Crime Grade?
- The FBI relies on local agency reporting. Rates reflect what was reported, not what occurred.
Nearby cities in Kentucky
Comparable Kentucky cities by population.
Compare Bardstown to other places
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