county

Estill County, KY

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

AI Overview

Estill County is a small rural Kentucky county of 14,079 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 47.4% and an unemployment rate of 7.2%, reflecting a constrained workforce where only 9.9% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Median household income stands at $46,051 and median worker earnings at $32,621, with a poverty rate of 22.0% and a GDP per capita of $16,210. Housing costs are low — median home value of $111,900 and median gross rent of $689/month — though the county has shed population at a rate of -1.6% over five years and carries a mean commute time of 35.3 minutes, suggesting workers routinely travel outside the county for employment.

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

Population

14,079

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$46,051

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone13,488 (96.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races209 (1.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race183 (1.3%)
  • Asian Alone140 (1.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone10 (0.1%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone5 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish122
  2. 2.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)102
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic11

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

591

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$16,210

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$24,142

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

22.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,062
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)921
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)696
  4. 4.Construction (Group)435
  5. 5.Public Administration (Group)430

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,501
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,261
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,008
  4. 4.Service Occupations847
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations505

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.57×)1,301
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.45×)349
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.28×)708
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.18×)351
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.11×)389

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$111,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$689/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

70.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $125,000 to $149,999491 (11.7%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999454 (10.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999398 (9.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999338 (8.0%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999297 (7.1%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999269 (6.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

9.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

78.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

47.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$32,621

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

35.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone3,783 (76.5%)
  • Carpooled466 (9.4%)
  • Worked At Home348 (7.0%)
  • Walked221 (4.5%)
  • Other84 (1.7%)
  • Bicycle40 (0.8%)

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.