Kentucky

State

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2023 Population

4.51M

0.173% 1-year growth

US Senator

N/AMitch McConnell

Republican Party

US Senator

N/ARand Paul

Republican Party

2023 Median Age

39.1

0% 1-year change

2023 Poverty Rate

16.1%

0.156% 1-year increase

2023 Median Household Income

$62,417

3.71% 1-year growth

2023 Median Property Value

$192,300

8.64% 1-year growth

2022 Employed Population

1.94M

0.688% 1-year growth

About

In 2023, Kentucky had a population of 4.51M people with a median age of 39.1 and a median household income of $62,417. Between 2022 and 2023 the population of Kentucky grew from 4.5M to 4.51M, a 0.173% increase and its median household income grew from $60,183 to $62,417, a 3.71% increase.

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Kentucky are White (Non-Hispanic) (82.3%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (7.77%), Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (3.3%), Two+ (Hispanic) (1.89%), and Asian (Non-Hispanic) (1.5%).

None of the households in Kentucky reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

97.4% of the residents in Kentucky are U.S. citizens.

In 2023, the median property value in Kentucky was $192,300, and the homeownership rate was 68.3%.

Most people in Kentucky drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 24 minutes. The average car ownership in Kentucky was 2 cars per household.

Kentucky borders Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Photo by Bill Brine

United States

Population & Diversity

Kentucky is home to a population of 4.51M people, from which 97.4% are citizens. As of 2023, 4.34% of Kentucky residents were born outside of the country (196k people).

In 2023, there were 10.6 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (3.71M people) in Kentucky than any other race or ethnicity. There were 350k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 149k Two+ (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Population by Location

Sex

The 3 PUMAS with the highest resident population

In N/A there were 4,502,935 residents in Kentucky.

The Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA) with the highest resident population were Purchase Area Development District PUMA, KY (196,944 people), Barren River Area Development District (Outer) PUMA, KY (177,820 people), and Northern Kentucky Area Development District (North Central)--Kenton County PUMA, KY (167,990 people).

The following map shows all of the states in Kentucky colored by the resident population.

Citizenship

97.4%

2023 Citizenship

97.6%

2022 Citizenship

As of 2023, 97.4% of Kentucky residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.4%. In 2022, the percentage of US citizens in Kentucky was 97.6%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Kentucky compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Kentucky

White (Non-Hispanic)
3.71M ± 2.22k
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
350k ± 2.88k
Two+ (Non-Hispanic)
149k ± 3.32k

4.7%

Hispanic Population

212k people

4.7% of the people in Kentucky are hispanic (212k people).

The following chart shows the 7 races represented in Kentucky as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

Most Common Origin

Mexico
28,651 ± 4,142 people
Cuba
14,970 ± 2,999 people
India
12,312 ± 2,720 people

In 2022, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Kentucky was Mexico, the natal country of 28,651 Kentucky residents, followed by Cuba with 14,970 and India with 12,312.

Foreign-Born Population

4.34%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

196k people

2022 Foreign-Born Population

180k people

As of 2023, 4.34% of Kentucky residents (196k people) were born outside of the United States, which is lower than the national average of 13.8%. In 2022, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Kentucky was 4%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Kentucky compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
77,738 ± 2,082
Gulf War (2001-)
53,357 ± 1,985
Gulf War (1990s)
39,571 ± 1,695

Kentucky has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.46 times greater than any other conflict.

Economy

The economy of Kentucky employs 1.94M people. The largest industries in Kentucky are Elementary & secondary schools (124,439 people), Restaurants & Food Services (117,715 people), and Construction (107,053 people), and the highest paying industries are Petroleum refining ($133,675), Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments ($117,447), and Pipeline transportation ($112,936).

Males in Kentucky have an average income that is 1.32 times higher than the average income of females, which is $52,220. The income inequality in Kentucky (measured using the Gini index) is N/A, which is N/A than the national average.

Employment

Workforce Diversity

Measure

920,654

Women

48.3%

987,033

Men

51.7%

The workforce of Kentucky in 2020 was 1,907,687 people, with 48.3% woman, and 51.7% men.

The visualization shows the distribution of the workforce by gender and age in Kentucky.

With the upper buttons you can see the distribution of the average salary and add a filter by race.

Workforce and Wage by Location

Measure

In N/A there were 1,935,323 people working in Kentucky. The Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA) that concentrated the largest workforce were Northern Kentucky Area Development District (North Central)--Kenton County PUMA, KY (84,933 people), Purchase Area Development District PUMA, KY (81,585 people), and Northern Kentucky Area Development District (Outer) PUMA, KY (76,258 people).

The following map shows all of the PUMAs in Kentucky colored by workforce or average wage.

With the upper buttons you can see the yearly change and add a filter by race.

Occupations

1.94M

2022 Value

0.688%

1 Year growth

± 0.688%

From 2021 to 2022, employment in Kentucky grew at a rate of 0.688%, from 1.92M employees to 1.94M employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Kentucky, are Driver/sales workers & truck drivers (49,868 people), Registered nurses (49,434 people), and Laborers & freight, stock, & material movers, hand (47,048 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Kentucky.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for false.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Kentucky (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

1.94M

2022 Value

0.688%

1 Year growth

± 0.688%

From 2021 to 2022, employment in Kentucky grew at a rate of 0.688%, from 1.92M employees to 1.94M employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Kentucky, are Elementary & secondary schools (124,439 people), Restaurants & Food Services (117,715 people), and Construction (107,053 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Kentucky, though some of these residents may live in Kentucky and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

N/A

Median earning men ± N/A

N/A

Median earning women ± N/A

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2023 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($71,956), Public Administration ($58,795), and Manufacturing ($56,900).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2023 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($49,889), Public Administration ($45,186), and Wholesale Trade ($43,485).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Kentucky.

Y-Axis

2.51%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 1.98M people employed in Kentucky. This represents a 2.51% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 14.4%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Kentucky.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

6,069
Retail Trade
6,031
Other Services (except Public Administration)
5,591
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

Depending on the option selected, the visualization shows the number of employees or number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$15.8M
Manufacturing
$15.3M
Health Care and Social Assistance
$7.21M
Retail Trade

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Civics

The most partisan county was N/A with N/A% of the vote going to N/A running for the N/A Party.

Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul are the senators currently representing the state of Kentucky. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Kentucky is currently represented by 6 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Popular Vote by County

N/A

Popular Vote for N/A

N/A% for the N/A

In the N/A presidential election, the most partisan county in Kentucky was N/A with N/A% of the vote going to N/A running for the N/A Party.

The following map shows the counties in Kentucky colored by their party leaning.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Kentucky

N/AMitch McConnell

Senator from Kentucky

Assumed office on January 3, 1985

N/ARand Paul

Senator from Kentucky

Assumed office on January 3, 2011

Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul are the senators currently representing Kentucky.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Kentucky over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

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US Representative Elections

US Representatives from Kentucky

Kentucky is currently represented by 6 members in the U.S. house.

Members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms, and the following chart shows the how the members for Kentucky have changed over time starting in 2008.

Education

In 2023, universities in Kentucky awarded 92,099 degrees. The student population of Kentucky in N/A is skewed towards N/A, with N/A male students and N/A female students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Enrollments by Gender and Races

In 2023 there were 280,868 students enrolled in Kentucky, 40.7% men and 59.3% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 193,736 records, of which 61.1% were women and 38.9% men.

Completions

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Working Population

Educational Pyramid

Measure

In false, NaNM% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while NaNM% of women were in the same situation.

This visualization shows the gender distribution of the population according to the academic level reached.

Educational Attainment

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population of Kentucky in false were N/A.

This visualization illustrates the percentage distribution of the population according to the highest educational level reached. You can filter the data by race by using the selector above.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Kentucky was $192,300 in 2023, which is 0.634 times smaller than the national average of $303,400. Between 2022 and 2023 the median property value increased from $177,000 to $192,300, a 8.64% increase. The homeownership rate in Kentucky is 68.3%, which is approximately the same as the national average of 65%.

People in Kentucky have an average commute time of 24 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Kentucky is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$192,300

Median Property Value 2023

±$1,018

$1.22M

Median Property Taxes

±$7,904

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Kentucky the largest share of households pay taxes in the < $800 range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Kentucky compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Equity

Income by Location

Use the dropdown to filter by race/ethnicity.

The following map shows all of the counties in Kentucky colored by their Median Household Income (N/A).

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Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$62,417

Median Household Income

± $401

N/A

Number of Households

± 0

In 2023, the median household income of the N/A households in Kentucky grew to $62,417 from the previous year's value of $60,183.

The following chart displays the households in Kentucky distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

N/A Wage GINI in N/A

In N/A, the income inequality in N/A was N/A according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a N/A N/A from N/A to N/A, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat N/A even. The GINI for N/A was N/A than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed N/A evenly in N/A in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Kentucky across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2023

Drove Alone (77.8%)
Carpooled (9.17%)
Worked At Home (9.09%)

In 2023, 77.8% of workers in Kentucky drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (9.17%) and those who worked at home (9.09%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

24 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Kentucky have a shorter commute time (24 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 2.36% of the workforce in Kentucky have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Kentucky compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Kentucky distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Kentucky have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

16.1% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Kentucky (707k out of 4.38M people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.4%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 18 - 24 and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Kentucky is White, followed by Black and Two Or More.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Health

94.1% of the population of Kentucky has health coverage, with 44.5% on employee plans, 23.4% on Medicaid, 13.2% on Medicare, 11.2% on non-group plans, and 1.73% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Kentucky see 1551 patients per year on average, which represents a 0.977% increase from the previous year (1536 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1512 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 365 patients per year.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,551 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Kentucky

Primary care physicians in Kentucky see an average of 1,551 patients per year. This represents a 0.977% increase from the previous year (1,536 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Kentucky in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In N/A, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in .

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, N/A were men and N/A were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

5.89%

Uninsured

44.5%

Employer Coverage

23.4%

Medicaid

13.2%

Medicare

11.2%

Non-Group

1.73%

Military or VA

Between 2022 and 2023, the percent of uninsured citizens in Kentucky grew by 0.375% from 5.87% to 5.89%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Kentucky changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

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