county

Nelson County, KY

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

AI Overview

Nelson County, KY is a small rural county of 47,102 residents that grew 3.8% over five years, with a median household income of $69,562 and a poverty rate of just 9.7%. The labor force participation rate stands at 61.9%, with 22.8% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher and a low unemployment rate of 3.1%; median worker earnings of $41,744 reflect a relatively modest but stable wage base. Housing costs remain accessible, with a median home value of $224,100 and median gross rent of $932/month, supported by a 78.3% homeownership rate.

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

Population

47,102

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$69,562

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone42,741 (89.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,535 (5.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,023 (2.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race843 (1.8%)
  • Asian Alone236 (0.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone202 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish750
  2. 2.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic173
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)137
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic102
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island92

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,614

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$38,409

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$33,257

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

9.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance5,789
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)5,104
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,452
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,745
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities1,573

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations7,843
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations5,668
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations3,912
  4. 4.Service Occupations3,668
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,025

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.30×)5,114
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.20×)616
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.07×)2,592
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.07×)1,647
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.02×)1,332

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$224,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$932/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9992,857 (19.0%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9992,411 (16.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,705 (11.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,241 (8.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,240 (8.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,157 (7.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

22.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,744

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

2.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone18,882 (82.6%)
  • Carpooled1,922 (8.4%)
  • Worked At Home1,375 (6.0%)
  • Other366 (1.6%)
  • Walked260 (1.1%)
  • Taxi55 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Nelson County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.