county

Shelby County, KY

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

AI Overview

Shelby County, KY is a small county of roughly 48,600 residents that has grown 3.9% over five years, with a median household income of $82,604 and a poverty rate of just 8.6%, signaling relative economic stability. The labor force participation rate stands at 64.6% with unemployment at 2.8%, and 31.0% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher; median worker earnings of $41,876 and median gross rent of $998/month reflect comparatively low labor and operating costs. Homeownership is high at 74.1%, median home values sit at $277,500, and a mean commute of 27.2 minutes points to proximity to larger regional employment centers.

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

Population

48,599

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$82,604

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.9% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone39,480 (80.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race3,007 (6.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races2,725 (5.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,919 (3.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,279 (2.6%)
  • Asian Alone477 (1.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish4,044
  2. 2.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)158
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island158
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic145
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic25

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

6.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,673

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$36,826

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$38,834

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

8.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,937
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)3,956
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)3,031
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,877
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,845

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations8,925
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations4,972
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations4,650
  4. 4.Service Occupations3,151
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,056

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.69×)4,091
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.62×)629
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.26×)2,132
  4. 4.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.26×)2,046
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.15×)3,046

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$277,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$998/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

73.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9992,865 (21.0%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9992,247 (16.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,626 (11.9%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,625 (11.9%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9991,406 (10.3%)
  • $750,000 to $999,999625 (4.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

31.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

64.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,876

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

27.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone17,776 (76.0%)
  • Worked At Home2,950 (12.6%)
  • Carpooled2,318 (9.9%)
  • Walked159 (0.7%)
  • Other75 (0.3%)
  • Taxi74 (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.