county

Knox County, KY

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

AI Overview

Knox County, KY is a rural Appalachian county of 30,034 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 40.8% and an unemployment rate of 7.9%, reflecting a structurally constrained workforce where only 13.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Median household income stands at $32,527 against a poverty rate of 36.7%, though housing costs are low—median home value of $109,200 and median gross rent of $631/month. The county has shed 4.6% of its population over five years, and a per capita GDP of $21,922 underscores the limited scale of its current economic base.

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

Population

30,034

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$32,527

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone28,593 (95.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races683 (2.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone312 (1.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race159 (0.5%)
  • Asian Alone57 (0.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone54 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish248
  2. 2.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic39
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island30
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)21
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)20

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

853

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$21,922

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$21,277

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

36.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,557
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)994
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services955
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)917
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services881

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,638
  2. 2.Service Occupations2,157
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,734
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,539
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations928

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.52×)357
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.49×)305
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.28×)537
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.17×)2,437
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.11×)1,070

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$109,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$631/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

65.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999876 (11.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999795 (10.4%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999674 (8.8%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999622 (8.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999612 (8.0%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999407 (5.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

13.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

75.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

40.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$28,947

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

12.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,992 (79.8%)
  • Carpooled797 (9.1%)
  • Worked At Home774 (8.8%)
  • Other113 (1.3%)
  • Walked59 (0.7%)
  • Motorcycle13 (0.1%)

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.