county

Bell County, KY

Demographic and economic profile of Bell County, KY, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Bell County, KY is a small Appalachian county of 23,878 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 41.1% and an unemployment rate of 10.5%, reflecting a structurally constrained workforce where only 13.9% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Costs are notably low, with a median home value of $83,000 and median gross rent of $617/month, set against a median household income of $31,354 and a poverty rate of 27.1%. The county has shed 12.2% of its population over five years, signaling ongoing demographic contraction in a market where median worker earnings stand at $27,965.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

23,878

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$31,354

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-12.2% since 2018

Bell County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone21,769 (92.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone705 (3.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races662 (2.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race205 (0.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone80 (0.3%)
  • Asian Alone61 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish35
  2. 2.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)20
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic19
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic14
  5. 5.Korean4

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

714

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$32,446

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$20,463

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

10.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

27.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,008
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)957
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)860
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services608
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services594

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,230
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,675
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,499
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations1,289
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations569

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.19×)477
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.71×)578
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.16×)1,929
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.12×)700
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.10×)851

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$83,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$617/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

58.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $60,000 to $69,999582 (10.0%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999541 (9.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999531 (9.1%)
  • Less Than $10,000490 (8.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999453 (7.7%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999433 (7.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

13.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

79.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

41.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$27,965

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,112 (72.3%)
  • Carpooled1,180 (16.7%)
  • Walked399 (5.6%)
  • Worked At Home311 (4.4%)
  • Other33 (0.5%)
  • Public Transit19 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.