county

Muhlenberg County, KY

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

AI Overview

Muhlenberg County is a rural western Kentucky county of 30,712 residents with an economy characterized by relatively modest incomes—median household income of $51,927 and per capita income of $31,065—alongside a poverty rate of 17.8%. The labor force participation rate of 51.5% is notably low, and only 13.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while the unemployment rate stands at 4.1%. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $121,300 and median gross rent of $712/month, and the 81.9% homeownership rate reflects the county's predominantly owner-occupied character; however, population has declined 1.2% over the past five years.

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

Population

30,712

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$51,927

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.2% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone28,163 (92.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races718 (2.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race623 (2.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone620 (2.0%)
  • Asian Alone318 (1.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone113 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish443
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic86
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island81
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic35
  5. 5.Arabic22

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,758

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$37,210

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,065

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

17.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,709
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,919
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,165
  4. 4.Construction (Group)782
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services771

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,994
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,560
  3. 3.Service Occupations2,219
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations1,975
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,403

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.51×)494
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.52×)1,864
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.21×)3,481
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.15×)828
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.07×)624

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$121,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$712/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,9991,395 (14.6%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,192 (12.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999820 (8.6%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999665 (7.0%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999605 (6.3%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999563 (5.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

13.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

84.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

51.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,941

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

27.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone10,124 (86.0%)
  • Carpooled839 (7.1%)
  • Worked At Home473 (4.0%)
  • Walked180 (1.5%)
  • Other113 (1.0%)
  • Taxi37 (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.