Sparta, Kentucky.
Typical home $228,667 (-2.4% in a year). Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro.
to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$729 (+155%) since Jan 2020.
- 1 year
- Down $5,714 -2%
- $234,381$228,667 since Sep 2025
- 5 years
- Up $56,848 +33%
- $171,819$228,667 since Sep 2021
Monthly payment to buy the typical home
Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.
- Sparta$1,200
- Kentucky$1,212
- United States$1,922
At the last five years' pace, a typical home here doubles in price every 12 years.
Typical home values in Sparta, KY fell 2.4% over the past year — slower than the nation's +1.2%.
Living in Sparta, Owen County, Kentucky
Sparta is a city of 236 people in Owen County. Half its households earn more than $51,375 a year and half less, against $61,134 across Owen County. Unemployment in Owen County was 3.9% in August 2026, and the county had 3.4% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most people in Owen County work in manufacturing, then schools and health care.
Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.
What it’s like
The place. Sparta is a very small city in Owen County, Kentucky. Household incomes in town run below the county's, and homes here are valued at a level that sits well within reach for many buyers. Winters are cold, with January the coldest month, and summers are warm, with July the warmest. Rain and melted snow add up to a fair amount over the year.
Work. People in Sparta work mostly in manufacturing, in schools, hospitals and social care, in the building trades, and in restaurants, hotels and entertainment. Across Owen County, the largest workplaces include Owen County Schools, Owenton Healthcare and a state government office. Unemployment in the county is a little lower than it was a year ago, and the county has gained some jobs over the past year.
Things to do. Kentucky Speedway, a race track, is in or beside town. A longer drive away are the Kentucky River, and Big Bone Lick State Park, a protected area. Those who like the outdoors have water and parkland within reach, though most of it takes a longer drive.
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What people in Owen County work in
Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Owen County had 1,592 jobs in 2025, 3.4% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Weather through the year
Coldest in January, with highs near 40° and lows near 19°; warmest in July, with highs near 85° and lows near 63°. About 48 inches of rain and melted snow a year.
Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Glencoe Northwest weather station, 6 miles away (NOAA).
Largest workplaces in Owen County
- Owen County SchoolsSchool district258FTE
- Owenton HealthcareSkilled nursing facilities95
- Chfs DcbsState government22
- Southern States Owenton Cooperative22
Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 3 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 139 people in all across the county; Sparta has none of its own. School districts come from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.
Natural hazards
- Strong windVery high
- TornadoesVery high
- Inland floodingRelatively high
- LightningRelatively high
- Ice stormsRelatively moderate
- Cold wavesRelatively moderate
FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Sparta’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.
From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Owen County and the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro.
Sparta home values
Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.
- Sparta$228,667
- Kentucky$230,909
- United States$366,157
When this market ran hot
Each cell is that month's year-on-year home-value growth. Read left to right, top row is the latest year — the 2021–22 band is the boom.
Market heat, inside the city limits
Homes for sale
Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.
- Sparta5
Zip codes with a Sparta address
A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Sparta — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.