county

Rowan County, KY

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

AI Overview

Rowan County is a small Appalachian community of 24,525 anchored by public-sector and education-related employment, with a notably young median age of 31.7 years likely reflecting the presence of a regional university. The labor force participation rate is relatively low at 57.4%, median worker earnings stand at $27,855, and 27.0% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing costs are modest—median home value of $155,900 and median gross rent of $815/month—though a 24.5% poverty rate and near-flat population growth of +0.1% over five years signal ongoing economic constraints.

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

Population

24,525

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$54,321

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

31.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.1% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone23,010 (93.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races612 (2.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone429 (1.7%)
  • Asian Alone233 (0.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race130 (0.5%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone124 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish434
  2. 2.Arabic61
  3. 3.Other Indo-European56
  4. 4.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)36
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic26

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

66.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

14.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,074

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$33,016

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$30,257

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

24.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,854
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,456
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,202
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)941
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities740

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,985
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations2,361
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,919
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,904
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations847

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.70×)4,445
  2. 2.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.06×)696
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.05×)1,276
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 0.99×)969
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 0.93×)1,041

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$155,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$815/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

61.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,096 (18.6%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999759 (12.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999613 (10.4%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999481 (8.2%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999399 (6.8%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999397 (6.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

27.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

87.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

57.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$27,855

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,961 (75.3%)
  • Worked At Home904 (8.5%)
  • Carpooled817 (7.7%)
  • Walked802 (7.6%)
  • Other52 (0.5%)
  • Public Transit42 (0.4%)

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.