county

Clay County, KY

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

AI Overview

Clay County is a small, rural Kentucky county of 20,105 residents with an economy marked by significant labor market stress — unemployment stands at 10.2%, labor force participation is just 43.3%, and the poverty rate is 31.8%, against a median household income of $40,900 and GDP per capita of $17,420. The available workforce is predominantly non-college-educated, with only 16.6% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 74.1% completing high school. Housing costs are among the lowest observable, with a median home value of $87,300 and median gross rent of $698/month, though population has contracted 2.5% over five years.

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

Population

20,105

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$40,900

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.5% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone18,364 (92.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone790 (4.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race368 (1.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races278 (1.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone69 (0.3%)
  • Asian Alone38 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish150
  2. 2.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)15
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic15
  4. 4.Arabic5

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

63.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

15.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

615

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$17,420

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$21,888

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

10.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

31.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,665
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)909
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)639
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services550
  5. 5.Public Administration (Group)518

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,216
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,315
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,140
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations945
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations685

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 1.77×)531
  2. 2.Retail Trade (LQ 1.61×)1,118
  3. 3.Information (LQ 1.21×)144
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.18×)354
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.14×)167

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$87,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$698/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999581 (10.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999542 (9.7%)
  • Less Than $10,000431 (7.7%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999430 (7.7%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999413 (7.4%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999355 (6.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

74.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

43.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$31,239

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

11.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,724 (76.0%)
  • Carpooled701 (11.3%)
  • Worked At Home582 (9.4%)
  • Other112 (1.8%)
  • Walked64 (1.0%)
  • Public Transit27 (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.