county

Wayne County, KY

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

AI Overview

Wayne County, KY is a small rural county of 19,592 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 47.0% and a low educational attainment base — only 13.7% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Median worker earnings stand at $30,652 against a poverty rate of 24.3%, while housing costs remain low, with a median home value of $121,700 and median gross rent of $666 per month. The county's population has contracted 4.9% over five years, and a GDP per capita of $21,006 reflects a constrained local economy.

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

Population

19,592

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$45,739

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.9% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone18,055 (92.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone463 (2.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races433 (2.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race343 (1.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone239 (1.2%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone63 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish597
  2. 2.Other Indo-European65
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic22
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic13
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)11

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

983

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$21,006

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$27,424

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

24.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,924
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,388
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)592
  4. 4.Construction (Group)542
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services534

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,121
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,938
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,587
  4. 4.Service Occupations886
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations810

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.29×)262
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.89×)1,349
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.14×)387
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.11×)465
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.07×)831

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$121,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$666/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

69.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999574 (10.3%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999499 (8.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999469 (8.4%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999450 (8.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999411 (7.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999363 (6.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

13.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

79.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

47.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$30,652

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,157 (72.3%)
  • Carpooled1,014 (14.2%)
  • Worked At Home768 (10.8%)
  • Other99 (1.4%)
  • Walked50 (0.7%)
  • Bicycle30 (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.