county

Whitley County, KY

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

AI Overview

Whitley County is a small Appalachian county of 36,755 residents with a relatively young median age of 35.2 years and a modest workforce — labor force participation stands at 51.1%, with an unemployment rate of 5.2% and median worker earnings of $28,449. Educational attainment is limited, with 19.8% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, while median household income sits at $44,615 against a poverty rate of 25.1%. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $120,600 and median gross rent of $720/month, and the county posted modest population growth of 1.8% over the past five years.

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

Population

36,755

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$44,615

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

35.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone35,210 (95.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races645 (1.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone404 (1.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone295 (0.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race249 (0.7%)
  • Asian Alone96 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish131
  2. 2.Other Indo-European35
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)33
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic27
  5. 5.Arabic26

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

26.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

15.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,124

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$32,127

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$23,077

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

25.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,004
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,678
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,617
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)1,602
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,036

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,856
  2. 2.Service Occupations2,901
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,539
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations2,511
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,032

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.35×)1,603
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.23×)3,893
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.21×)1,790
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.13×)1,524
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 0.99×)933

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$120,600

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$720/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

66.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,074 (11.9%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999950 (10.5%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999770 (8.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999715 (7.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999659 (7.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999614 (6.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

19.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

83.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

51.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$28,449

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone9,872 (72.5%)
  • Carpooled1,951 (14.3%)
  • Worked At Home1,352 (9.9%)
  • Walked334 (2.5%)
  • Other47 (0.3%)
  • Bicycle37 (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.