county

Russell County, KY

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

AI Overview

Russell County is a small rural county of 18,117 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 53.2% and an unemployment rate of 6.0%, reflecting a constrained but low-cost workforce where median worker earnings sit at $34,693 and median gross rent runs $660 per month. Educational attainment is limited, with only 15.8% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though 81.8% hold at least a high school diploma. The county posted 2.0% population growth over five years, and a median home value of $148,200 combined with a 73.5% homeownership rate and a 23.4% poverty rate characterize an affordable but economically pressured community.

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

Population

18,117

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$44,738

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+2.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone16,853 (92.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race418 (2.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races359 (2.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone301 (1.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone224 (1.2%)
  • Asian Alone50 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish617
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic81
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic25
  4. 4.Vietnamese20
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)9

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

835

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$43,708

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,231

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

23.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,899
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,550
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)665
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services584
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services564

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,291
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,488
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,442
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,140
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations966

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.13×)1,527
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.80×)207
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.17×)1,974
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 0.96×)478
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 0.95×)742

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$148,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$660/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

70.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999772 (14.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999511 (9.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999463 (8.6%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999368 (6.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999358 (6.7%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999334 (6.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

81.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

53.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$34,693

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

19.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,778 (80.5%)
  • Carpooled845 (11.8%)
  • Worked At Home380 (5.3%)
  • Walked149 (2.1%)
  • Other22 (0.3%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

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.