county

Mercer County, KY

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

AI Overview

Mercer County is a small rural Kentucky county of 22,824 residents that grew 6.1% over five years, with an economy reflected in a GDP per capita of $38,433 and median household income of $64,824. The labor force is relatively modest, with a 57.7% participation rate, 22.5% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and median worker earnings of $38,652, pointing to a workforce that skews toward trades and lower-credential occupations. Housing costs are low—median home value of $189,700 and median gross rent of $802/month—alongside a 77.1% homeownership rate and 2.9% unemployment, signaling a stable, affordable, owner-occupied community.

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

Population

22,824

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$64,824

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+6.1% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone20,783 (90.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone743 (3.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races698 (3.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone467 (2.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race251 (1.1%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone43 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish535
  2. 2.Arabic136
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic121
  4. 4.Other Indo-European16
  5. 5.Korean15

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,311

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$38,433

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,851

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,220
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)2,170
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)994
  4. 4.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities833
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services659

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,053
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,234
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,781
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,223
  5. 5.Service Occupations1,121

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.63×)430
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 2.04×)2,077
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.48×)886
  4. 4.Public Administration (LQ 1.02×)492
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 0.98×)1,090

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$189,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$802/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

75.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999948 (13.6%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999685 (9.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999662 (9.5%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999637 (9.1%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999626 (9.0%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999601 (8.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

22.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

57.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,652

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

27.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone8,115 (78.1%)
  • Worked At Home1,132 (10.9%)
  • Carpooled1,062 (10.2%)
  • Other31 (0.3%)
  • Walked29 (0.3%)
  • Motorcycle28 (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.