county

Nicholas County, KY

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

AI Overview

Nicholas County is a small rural Kentucky county of 7,655 residents that grew 7.8% over five years, with an economy oriented toward agriculture and related industries reflected in a GDP per capita of just $12,440 and median worker earnings of $35,435. The labor force is modest in both size and educational attainment — participation stands at 53.8% and only 9.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher — while unemployment runs at 7.2% and the poverty rate is 18.5%. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $119,600 and median gross rent of $654/month, and a 74.5% homeownership rate, though workers face a mean commute of 37.7 minutes, suggesting most employment is located outside the county.

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

Population

7,655

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$59,531

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+7.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone7,413 (96.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races175 (2.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone91 (1.2%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone16 (0.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone7 (0.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race6 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish63
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

237

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$12,440

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$24,672

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

18.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance723
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)547
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)540
  4. 4.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities282
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services229

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations899
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations890
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations679
  4. 4.Service Occupations424
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations269

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.26×)157
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.92×)577
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.45×)478
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.38×)196
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.29×)228

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$119,600

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$654/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

74.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999348 (16.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999187 (9.0%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999176 (8.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999169 (8.2%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999154 (7.4%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999153 (7.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

9.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

83.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

53.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,435

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

35.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

13.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,611 (84.1%)
  • Carpooled318 (10.2%)
  • Worked At Home125 (4.0%)
  • Walked43 (1.4%)
  • Other8 (0.3%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

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.