Kentucky
What income is needed in Kentucky to be considered middle class?
US debt now tops the economy and the risks are rising
US debt now exceeds the economy, and rising interest costs are adding pressure, raising questions about how sustainable our borrowing is.
Would you be considered middle class in Kentucky?
As prices and the cost of living continue to rise, it can be difficult to define what it means to be middle class and whether that lifestyle is still attainable in 2026.
The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households earning between two-thirds and two times the median income. That range, however, varies by state, depending on local economic conditions such as housing affordability and the job market.
Using 2024 U.S. Census data and Pew Research methodology, SmartAsset analyzed all 50 states and the 100 largest U.S. cities to determine the income range needed to qualify as middle class.
Here’s what it means to be middle class in Kentucky, according to the study.
What does it take to be middle-class in Kentucky?
Kentucky ranks 46th among the states for the income needed to maintain a middle-class status, according to the analysis. The state’s median household income is $64,526, with the middle-class income range spanning from a lower bound of $43,017 to an upper bound of $129,052.
How much money is needed to be middle-class in Louisville and Lexington?
Among the 100 cities included in the study, Lexington ranked 69th and Louisville ranked 71st for the income needed to maintain middle-class standing.
In Lexington, the median household income is $69,989, with the middle-class income range extending from a lower bound of $46,659 to an upper bound of $139,978. In Louisville, the median household income is $67,251, with a middle-class income range of $44,834 to $134,502.
See states with highest incomes needed to maintain middle-class status
According to SmartAsset, the following states require the highest median household incomes to maintain middle-class status.
- 1. Massachusetts – $104,828
- 2. New Jersey – $104,294
- 3. Maryland – $102,905
- 4. Hawaii – $100,745
- 5. California – $100,149
- 6. New Hampshire – $99,782
- 7. Washington – $99,389
- 8. Colorado – $97,113
- 9. Utah – $96,658
- 10. Connecticut – $96,049
See states with lowest incomes needed to maintain middle-class status
The following states require the lowest median household incomes to maintain middle-class status, according to SmartAsset.
- 41. Indiana – $71,959
- 42. Missouri – $71,589
- 43. New Mexico – $67,816
- 44. Alabama – $66,659
- 45. Oklahoma – $66,148
- 46. Kentucky – $64,526
- 47. Arkansas – $62,106
- 48. Louisiana – $60,986
- 49. West Virginia – $60,798
- 50. Mississippi – $59,127
How SmartAsset assessed middle-class by state and cities
To determine what the income requirements and limits are to being middle class in different locations, SmartAsset analyzed the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 1-year American Community Survey data for the median household income in all 50 states and among the 100 largest U.S. cities.
SmartAsset stated that it then used the Pew Research definition of middle-class households, which indicates the salary range from two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary, to help determine the middle-class income range.
Contributing: Madison Scott, New York Connect. Reach Marina Johnson at Marina.Johnson@courier-journal.com.
Louisville’s best hot dog locations you should try in 2026
See our list of the top three places around Louisville, Kentucky, to grab a hot dog this summer.
Maybe you sensed the tides changing toward beef and buns during the first seconds of July 1.
As soon as midnight struck, gone were the days of National Iced Tea Month or National Candy Month, both observed in June, the same month that hosts National Doughnut Day.
It’s July now, and that means National Hot Dog Month is here to stay for 31 days.
Louisville is home to plenty of hot dog joints, whether they serve classics with a $3 price tag or gourmet glizzies topped with unlikely ingredients such as wild arugula or a fried mac-and-cheese ball.
To kick off National Hot Dog Month and ahead of National Hot Dog Day on July 15, here are 15 of the best spots, presented in alphabetical order, to grab a hot dog in Louisville.
Did we miss your favorite? Send a note to ahancock@courier-journal.com.
Where to get hot dogs in Louisville, Ky.
This Schnitzleburg neighborhood favorite, which has been open for more than 60 years, is a go-to spot for a classic one-quarter pound grilled hot dog. Or you can upgrade to the knife-and-fork production of the Check’s Chili Cheese Dog, a grilled hot dog topped with its famous chili and cheddar cheese, served smothered on a bun ($11.99).
Details: 1101 E. Burnett Ave., Louisville, Ky., Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday, noon to 10 p.m., checkscafe.com
This Louisville staple has been around since 1951 and serves a variety of milkshakes, sundaes, hand-dipped ice cream cones, soft-serve ice cream and smoothies. Specialty treats include a funnel fry sundae, banana split, s’mores parfait and hot fudge cake. A whole section of the menu is dedicated to hot dogs, Polish sausages, and brats, which start at just $2.25.
Details: 1516 S. Shelby St., Louisville, Ky., daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., facebook.com/DairyDel/
You’ll get a sweet sense of nostalgia at this walk-up spot that’s been soft serve royalty for 40 years in Louisville. Along with treats like sundaes, flurries and milkshakes, hot dogs are a hit at Dairy Kastle. You’ll find a regular hot dog, along with a chili dog, bratwurst, a vegan dog and a taco-in-a-bag.
Details: 575 Eastern Parkway, Louisville, Ky., Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; closed Monday, dairykastle.com
Derby Dogs, a gourmet hot dog shop “where every dog is a winner” opened in the Highlands in late 2025. Look for fan favorites including the Talk Derby to Me, which is smothered in creamy mac and cheese, topped with shredded cheddar and finished with a crispy mac-and-cheese ball or the Sir Trots-A-Lot, which comes with tomato, sauerkraut, relish, onion, pickle spear, ketchup and mustard. For each specialty concoction, you can choose from a jumbo, Polish or plant‑based dog.
Custom toppings run the gamut and include onions, jalapenos, banana peppers, sour cream, shredded cheddar, chili and curly fries.
Details: 1285 Bardstown Road, Louisville, Ky., Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed Mondays, derbydogs.dog/
While Dizzy Whizz might be known for burgers, you can also get your hot dog fix here by chowing down on a one-quarter pound hot dog, which costs $3.99. You can also get a hot dog with chili, an item the menu promises “never fails you,” for less than a dollar more.
Details: 217 W. St. Catherine St., Louisville, Ky., Hours: Monday-Thursday 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday, noon to 9 p.m., dizzywhizz.com
This hot dog chain originally opened in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 2017 and now has six locations, including one in Middletown. The menu includes pizza, burgers, sandwiches and dishes such as a chicken pot pie. But, at least with the restaurant’s name on your mind, you may walk in wanting a hot dog. For $12.49, The Ballpark “Double” Dog includes two steamed ballpark hot dogs with mustard, relish and diced onions. For cheese lovers, The Tillamook Dog starts with a Hebrew National hot dog topped with a strip of hickory smoked bacon and includes the restaurant’s “famous” Tillamook cheese spread, diced onions and fresh diced tomatoes on a toasted bun.
Details: 13307 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, Ky. Hours: Sunday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., doubledogs.biz/menu/louisville-middletown/
This Pasadena, California-born chain opened its first location in the area in 2024. Hot dogs on the menu include options such as the Chili Idol, which features Haus chili, cheddar cheese sauce and onions, the Old Town, which features smoked bacon, caramelized onions, chipotle aioli, pickled jalapenos and cojita cheese and the SoooCali, which features wild arugula, avocado, tomato, crispy onions and spicy basil aioli.
Details: 415 W. Bank St., New Albany, Indiana, Hours: daily, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., doghaus.com
One of Louisville’s oldest food trucks offers hot dogs including its Booty Dog, a smoked sausage, chili, two kinds of cheese, grilled pepper and onions and the chili cheese dog, a 1/3 pound Angus all-beef dog, chili and shredded cheese and smoked sausage. Get It On a Bun at Booty also serves the Booty Deluxe Burger, a Kentucky State Fair award-winning hamburger that is topped with smoked Gouda, applewood bacon, grilled pepper/onion medley, chipotle mayo, lettuce and tomato on a toasted brioche bun.
Details:822 State St., New Albany, Indiana, also a food truck, Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday, 812-292-3800; facebook.com/BootysDiner
Hauck’s Corner, a favorite in the Schnitzelburg-Germantown neighborhood, offers a variety of food in a funky setting. The menu inclues The Hauck’s Dog, a bacon-wrapped hot dog smothered with smokey brisket chili, creamy queso, zesty pickled red onions and jalapenos. Also look for grilled bratwurst and vegan bratwurst options.
Details: 1000 Goss Ave., Louisville, Ky., Hours: daily, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., hauckscorner.com
One of Louisville’s newer hot dog joints is a small walk-up joint in the Highlands. Parachute Ice Cream and Hotdog opened in April 2026. Parachute offers a variety of all-beef hot dogs from New Jersey-based Thumann’s, including hot dogs in the style of Kansas City, San Antonio, Seattle, Chicago or New York City. The menu also offers the option to build your own hot dog. Plus, Parachute serves farm-fresh ice cream made by Chaney’s Dairy Barn, which is based in Bowling Green.
Details: 1770 1/2 Bardstown Road, Louisville, Ky., Hours: Monday-Thursday, 3 p.m. to midnight, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday, noon to 2 a.m., Sunday, 12-7 p.m., instagram.com/parachutelou/
Red Top is known for offering a source of local pride with its “Louisville” dog, which brings together yellow mustard and coney sauce, as well as beer cheese, making for a decadent and, probably, highly messy experience. Also on the menu is the Black & Blue, which features chunky blue cheese, bourbon grilled onions, smoked bacon and blackberry jam. After years of being parked outside Atrium Brewing, Red Top joined Mashup Food Hall as of late 2025.
Details: 750 E Jefferson St., Louisville, Ky., Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday redtopdogs.com
If you seek a taste of the Windy City with your hot dog, check out Sam’s Chicago Grill. The Chicago Dog here is made with a Vienna all-beef frank on a poppy seed bun and is loaded with yellow mustard, chopped onions, green relish, tomato wedges, peppers, a pickle spear and a dash of celery salt. The hot dog looks like it was “dragged through the garden, just like they do it back home,” according to Sam’s website, referring to a classic Chicago phrase about the city’s vegetable-covered hot dogs.
Details: 4501 Cane Run Road, Louisville, Ky. Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Closed Sunday, samschicagogrill.com
This neighborhood smashburger joint serves up a variety of five tasty hot dogs, including its signature Toasty Dog, featuring an all-beef hot dog topped with smoked poblano relish and Toasty sauce. Toasty’s also serves a Seattle Dog, topped with dijon cream cheese, griddled onions, and pickled jalapeno, and a Hot Brown Dog, made with cheese sauce and tomato relish.
Details: 1258 S. Shelby St., Louisville, Ky., Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 a.m., closed Monday, toastystavern.com
Trellis Brewing in Smoketown has tried out a few food programs since launching in June 2024. Its most recent concept, going by Trellis Foods, includes an in-house kitchen led by chef James Andrews, formerly of Red Hog Restaurant & Butcher Shop. The menu includes the KY Slaw Dog, topped with slaw and chili as well as the Pickle Express Dog, composed of brown mustard, sweet relish, pickled peppers and a garlic pickle spear. Here’s a hot dog tip: A special from 5-9 p.m. every Monday gets you a hot dog, side of fries and a beer for $12.
Details: 827 Logan St., Louisville, Ky., Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Sunday, trellisbrewing.com.
This bar and restaurant serving a unique trio of boat drinks, oysters and hot dogs opened in May 2025. YachtSea’s array of fancy hot dogs include one made with IPA beer cheese, fried onions, gochujang ketchup, papaya mustard and a pickle spear. The Bratsea! is a deep-fried bratwurst with sauerkraut, pickled jalapeños, and honey rum Dijon. Those dishes are made to pair well with drinks such as a house piña colada, which is served in a coconut milk can.
Details: 111 N. Wenzel St., Louisville, Ky., Hours: 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday, yachtseabar.com
Reach food and dining reporter Amanda Hancock at ahancock@courier-journal.com. Reach Features Clerk Gege Reed at greed@courier-journal.com.
CORBIN, Ky. (WTVF) — Road trippers are pouring in from across the country to Cumberland Falls near Corbin, Kentucky, for one of the rarest sights in nature.
“I would have never thought in Kentucky there was a waterfall like this,” Josh Sharp, a tourist from Ohio, said. “How often do you see nature like this?”
Alan Jett, a tourist from Pennsylvania, said his wife spotted the destination while looking at a map. “It’s gorgeous, it really is,” Jett said.
But it is not just the 70 foot waterfall drawing the crowds. It is the moonbow, that appears alongside it during the light of a full moon, that has every cabin booked and the phone at the park ringing nonstop.
“People are here for the moonbow,” Maggy Kriebel, park manager at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, said. “Cumberland Falls is the only place in the Western Hemisphere that you can see a regularly occurring moonbow.”
A moonbow is similar to a daytime rainbow, but instead of sunlight, the colors come from moonlight. “The moon lines up just right with this mist off this waterfall,” professional photographer Max Caswell said.
Caswell enjoys capturing moonbows so much that he arrived hours early just to secure a spot along the river, checking conditions before the show began.
“I was actually looking to see how much mist was running down river,” Caswell said.
The wait, however, requires patience.”It’s going to be another hour and a half at least,” Caswell said. “The moon’s just now at the horizon.”
As darkness fell and the full moon rose above the trees, hundreds gathered to witness the spectacle. To the naked eye, the moonbow appears as a ghostly white arc, but cameras with long exposure settings reveal it bursting with color. “Boy that looks really good now. It’s brightening up a lot!” Caswell said.
By the end of the night, the display did not disappoint. “You can actually kind of see almost a double [moonbow] starting right there,” Caswell said, showing us one of his pictures.
According to the park, Cumberland Falls is the only place on this side of the world to catch almost monthly moonbows. The only other location where moonbows can be seen regularly is Victoria Falls in Africa.
Weather permitting, a moonbow is visible at Cumberland Falls every full moon — and that is what keeps photographers like Caswell coming back. “You never know what to expect. You don’t know if it’s going to be spot on. But that’s what keeps you going back out there and trying to chase that perfect shot,” Caswell said.
2026 Cumberland Falls moonbow dates
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park has released its 2026 moonbow viewing schedule. All times are approximate (in the Eastern Time Zone) and based on the evening of arrival.
July
- July 1: 12:30 am – 2:30 am
- July 27: 10:00 am – 12:00 am
- July 28: 10:30 pm – 12:30 am
- July 29: 11:00 pm – 1:00 am
- July 30: 11:30 pm – 1:30 am
- July 31: 12:00 am – 2:00 am
August
- Aug. 26: 9:30 pm – 11:30 pm
- Aug. 27: 10:00 pm – 12:00 am
- Aug. 28: 10:30 pm – 12:30 am
- Aug. 29: 11:00 pm – 1:00 am
- Aug. 30: 11:30 pm – 1:30 am
September
- Sept. 24: 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm
- Sept. 25: 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
- Sept. 26: 9:30 pm – 11:30 pm
- Sept. 27: 10:00 pm – 12:00 am
- Sept. 28: 10:30 pm – 12:30 am
October
- Oct. 24: 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
- Oct. 25: 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm
- Oct. 26: 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
- Oct. 27: 9:30 pm – 11:30 pm
- Oct. 28: 10:30 pm – 12:30 am
November
- Nov. 22: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
- Nov. 23: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
- Nov. 24: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
- Nov. 25: 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
- Nov. 26: 9:30 pm – 11:30 pm
December
- Dec. 21: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
- Dec. 22: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
- Dec. 23: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
- Dec. 24: 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
- Dec. 25: 9:30 pm – 11:30 pm
Do you have any great shots from recent Moonbows at Cumberland Falls, Kentucky? Share them with me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
Tenn. seniors make a splash on a giant slip-and-slide
A slip-and-slide for seniors?! Who knew it could stir laughter and tears. Photojournalist Angie Dones captures a story filled with so much joy and one that will tug at your heartstrings.
– Carrie Sharp
There is plenty of excitement surrounding the Kentucky Wildcats this summer as Mark Pope and his staff look to make some noise in Year 3. One of those key players? Milan Momcilovic.
The Iowa State sharpshooter chose the Cats over Louisville and Arizona, and is now set up to be one of the key players on the roster this season. With a quick recruitment, however, and no campus visits, how did Milan come to the decision of heading to Lexington?
Here is what he told the UK Sports Network for why he chose Mark Pope and Kentucky:
“Playing against him at BYU really stood out to me,” Momcilovic said. “I think the first year or two at Iowa State, we played against him, and his teams are tough to play against. A lot of shot-making they had, that really stood out. He likes playing with a lot of shooters, and obviously that’s my strength. We mesh so well together.”
It was widely talked about how well he fit into the shooting role that we have seen from players in Coach Pope’s offense. Koby Brea shined in his first season, and it was Colin Chandler last year. Now all the pieces are set up for Momcilovic to become the great shooter for the Cats this year.
THAT IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT!
It is Mitch Barnhart’s last day.
A cool story about one of the new UK transfers.
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