county

Carter County, KY

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

AI Overview

Carter County is a small rural Kentucky county of 26,515 residents with an economy reflected in a GDP per capita of $19,334 and median household income of $51,235, set against a poverty rate of 19.6% and median worker earnings of $31,699. The labor force is constrained, with a participation rate of just 47.9% and only 15.4% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though unemployment stands at a relatively modest 4.1%. Housing costs are low—median home value of $126,100 and median gross rent of $701 per month—and an 80.0% homeownership rate accompanies a population that has contracted by 2.8% over the past five years.

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

Population

26,515

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$51,235

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone25,142 (95.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races520 (2.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race375 (1.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone124 (0.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone104 (0.4%)
  • Asian Alone70 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic171
  2. 2.Korean42
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic17
  4. 4.Spanish11
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)10

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,500

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$19,334

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$27,184

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

19.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,838
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,112
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,095
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,094
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services732

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,043
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,838
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,825
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations1,701
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,315

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Construction (LQ 1.63×)1,107
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.30×)2,977
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.17×)540
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.11×)951
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.09×)627

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$126,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$701/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

80.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999927 (10.7%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999875 (10.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999795 (9.2%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999754 (8.7%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999501 (5.8%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999499 (5.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

82.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

47.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$31,699

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

30.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,559 (80.6%)
  • Carpooled1,060 (11.3%)
  • Worked At Home338 (3.6%)
  • Walked312 (3.3%)
  • Bicycle62 (0.7%)
  • Other47 (0.5%)

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.