county

Fayette County, KY

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

AI Overview

Fayette County (Lexington) anchors central Kentucky with a population of 329,437 and an economy whose GDP per capita of $69,354 substantially outpaces median worker earnings of $38,947, reflecting a service- and knowledge-oriented employment base. Nearly half the adult population—47.3%—holds a bachelor's degree or higher, placing the county well above national averages, while median gross rent of $1,101/month and a median home value of $272,100 signal relatively moderate occupancy costs compared to similarly educated metro areas. Population growth has been slow at +0.7% over five years, unemployment sits at 5.0%, and a poverty rate of 15.7% indicates pockets of economic strain alongside the county's otherwise credentialed workforce.

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

Population

329,437

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$69,479

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

35.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.7% since 2018

Fayette County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone221,483 (68.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone46,839 (14.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races14,853 (4.6%)
  • Asian Alone14,103 (4.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race13,861 (4.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone11,839 (3.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish22,331
  2. 2.Other Indo-European5,567
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)2,883
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island2,709
  5. 5.Arabic2,444

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

64.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

14.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

11.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

12,848

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$69,354

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$42,272

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance50,663
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services21,701
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)19,311
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services16,764
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)16,436

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations81,357
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations33,918
  3. 3.Service Occupations28,120
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations19,136
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations9,185

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.27×)49,967
  2. 2.Retail Trade (LQ 1.09×)19,960
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.06×)15,670
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.05×)8,305
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.00×)20,877

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$272,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,101/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

53.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,99914,656 (19.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,99911,185 (14.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9999,711 (12.9%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9999,212 (12.3%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9997,773 (10.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9994,587 (6.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

47.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

67.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,947

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone122,358 (73.1%)
  • Worked At Home20,379 (12.2%)
  • Carpooled14,578 (8.7%)
  • Walked5,147 (3.1%)
  • Public Transit2,494 (1.5%)
  • Other1,196 (0.7%)

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.