Investigation

Kentucky Has Few Ghost Listings but 2x the National Share of Low-Rated Dumpster Companies

Only 8.3% of Kentucky's 60 dumpster rental listings have no reviews, below the national rate. But 10% average under 3 stars, more than twice the national share. Louisville has both the best and the worst of the state.

May 10, 2026•4 min read•By Chad Waldman

Kentucky Has Few Ghost Listings but Twice the Share of Low-Rated Companies

Corrected October 2026. We originally reported an 18.3% "ghost listing" rate for Kentucky. That number counted companies rated under 3 stars as ghosts and was compared with a national figure that didn't include them. Like for like, Kentucky's empty-listing rate is 8.3%, below the national 9.5%. This version reports both measures separately.

The good news first. Kentucky's dumpster listings are mostly real, established businesses. Of the 60 Google showed in April 2026, only 5 have no reviews. The median listing has 58 reviews, fifth-highest of any state.

The catch is what those reviews say.

Kentucky	National
No reviews or no rating	5 (8.3%)	9.5%
Rated under 3.0 stars	6 (10.0%)	4.3%

Kentucky ranks third of 37 states for the share of listings rated under 3 stars. One listing in ten belongs to a company that many of its own customers didn't like.

Louisville: best and worst

Louisville has nearly half the state's listings, 27 of 60, so it sets the tone.

City	Listings	No reviews	Under 3 stars
Louisville	27	2	3
Lexington	9	0	1

Three Louisville listings average under 3 stars. The city is also home to four of the state's five highest-scoring companies.

DCS	Company	City	Rating	Reviews
100	Junk King Northern Kentucky	Elsmere	4.9	1,662
95	Best Deal Dumpster	Louisville	4.9	265
90	Waste Now Porta Potty & Dumpster Rental Louisville	Louisville	4.7	215
89	Junk King Louisville	Louisville	4.9	888
89	Clean Slate Junk Removal & Moving	Louisville	5.0	721

Overall, 34 Kentucky companies, more than half the state, combine 4.5 stars or better with at least 25 reviews. That's the highest share of any state we measured. Your odds are good, as long as you check the rating before you call.

What low-rated companies usually get wrong

We scanned the 1,060 one- and two-star reviews in our dataset for common complaints. Roughly a third mention pickup or delivery problems, about 1 in 7 mention weight charges or extra fees, and about 1 in 8 mention property damage:

Weight fees. The quoted price leaves out the overage charge, and the final bill comes in higher. Ask for the weight allowance and the per-ton rate in writing.
Pickup delays. The dumpster sits for days past the rental period, sometimes with daily fees added. Ask what happens if they're late, not just if you are.
Driveway damage. Ask whether the driver uses boards under the rails, and who pays if the concrete cracks.

Find every Kentucky company ranked by DCS Score in our [Kentucky directory](/dumpster-rental/kentucky).

Method

Google Places data, April 2026, 6,304 listings nationwide. "No reviews" means zero reviews or no star rating. "Under 3 stars" means at least one review and an average below 3.0. State rankings cover the 37 states with 40 or more listings. Read how the [DCS Score](/methodology) works. No company pays for placement.