Jefferson County, KY

County

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2023 Population

777,392

0.236% 1-year decline

US Senator

Mitch McConnell

Republican Party

US Senator

Rand Paul

Republican Party

2023 Median Age

38.4

0.26% 1-year decrease

2023 Poverty Rate

14.5%

2.83% 1-year increase

2023 Median Household Income

$67,849

2.34% 1-year growth

2023 Median Property Value

$237,200

6.75% 1-year growth

2023 Employed Population

388,281

0.787% 1-year decline

About

In 2023, Jefferson County, KY had a population of 777k people with a median age of 38.4 and a median household income of $67,849. Between 2022 and 2023 the population of Jefferson County, KY declined from 779,232 to 777,392, a −0.236% decrease and its median household income grew from $66,296 to $67,849, a 2.34% increase.

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Jefferson County, KY are White (Non-Hispanic) (63.3%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (21.7%), Two+ (Hispanic) (3.98%), Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (3.84%), and Asian (Non-Hispanic) (2.89%).

None of the households in Jefferson County, KY reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

94.7% of the residents in Jefferson County, KY are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Jefferson County, KY are University of Louisville (5,751 degrees awarded in 2022), Jefferson Community and Technical College (4,096 degrees), and Galen College of Nursing-Louisville (156471) (1,166 degrees).

In 2023, the median property value in Jefferson County, KY was $237,200, and the homeownership rate was 61.8%.

Most people in Jefferson County, KY drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 22.3 minutes. The average car ownership in Jefferson County, KY was 2 cars per household.

Jefferson County, KY borders Clark County, IN, Floyd County, IN, Harrison County, IN, Bullitt County, KY, Hardin County, KY, Oldham County, KY, Shelby County, KY, and Spencer County, KY.

About the photo: Louisville, KY

Photo by The Pug Father

United States Kentucky Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

Population & Diversity

Jefferson County, KY is home to a population of 777k people, from which 94.7% are citizens. As of 2023, 9.2% of Jefferson County, KY residents were born outside of the country (71.6k people).

In 2023, there were 2.92 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (492k people) in Jefferson County, KY than any other race or ethnicity. There were 168k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 30.9k Two+ (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

94.7%

2023 Citizenship

95.2%

2022 Citizenship

As of 2023, 94.7% of Jefferson County, KY residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.4%. In 2022, the percentage of US citizens in Jefferson County, KY was 95.2%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Jefferson County, KY compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Jefferson County, KY

White (Non-Hispanic)
492k ± 1.04k
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
168k ± 1.53k
Two+ (Hispanic)
30.9k ± 2.06k

7.83%

Hispanic Population

60.9k people

7.83% of the people in Jefferson County, KY are hispanic (60.9k people).

The following chart shows the 7 races represented in Jefferson County, KY as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for Kentucky.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
28,651 ± 4,142 people
Cuba
14,970 ± 2,999 people
India
12,312 ± 2,720 people

In 2022, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Kentucky was Mexico, the natal country of 28,651 Kentucky residents, followed by Cuba with 14,970 and India with 12,312.

Foreign-Born Population

9.2%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

71.6k people

8.34%

2022 Foreign-Born Population

65k people

As of 2023, 9.2% of Jefferson County, KY residents (71.6k people) were born outside of the United States, which is lower than the national average of 13.8%. In 2022, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Jefferson County, KY was 8.34%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Jefferson County, KY compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
12,121 ± 818
Gulf War (2001-)
7,500 ± 841
Gulf War (1990s)
7,239 ± 787

Jefferson County, KY has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.62 times greater than any other conflict.

Economy

The economy of Jefferson County, KY employs 388k people. The largest industries in Jefferson County, KY are Health Care & Social Assistance (56,253 people), Manufacturing (48,117 people), and Retail Trade (41,594 people), and the highest paying industries are Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($115,786), Utilities ($78,818), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($73,142).

Males in Kentucky have an average income that is 1.32 times higher than the average income of females, which is $52,220. The income inequality in Kentucky (measured using the Gini index) is 0.452, which is lower than than the national average.

Employment

Occupations

388k

2023 Value

± 5,443

−0.787%

1 Year decline

± 1.93%

From 2022 to 2023, employment in Jefferson County, KY declined at a rate of −0.787%, from 391k employees to 388k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Jefferson County, KY, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (43,332 people), Management Occupations (41,121 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (35,213 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Jefferson County, KY.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for false.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Kentucky (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

388k

2023 Value

± 5,443

−0.787%

1 Year decline

± 1.93%

From 2022 to 2023, employment in Jefferson County, KY declined at a rate of −0.787%, from 391k employees to 388k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Jefferson County, KY, are Health Care & Social Assistance (56,253 people), Manufacturing (48,117 people), and Retail Trade (41,594 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Jefferson County, KY, though some of these residents may live in Jefferson County, KY and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$50,926

Median earning men ± $1,123

$40,282

Median earning women ± $461

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2023 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($81,154), Public Administration ($65,944), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($62,071).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2023 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($55,149), Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($48,699), and Public Administration ($47,776).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Kentucky.

Y-Axis

2.51%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 1.98M people employed in Kentucky. This represents a 2.51% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 14.4%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Kentucky.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

1,470
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1,138
Health Care and Social Assistance
1,113
Retail Trade

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

Depending on the option selected, the visualization shows the number of employees or number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$4.37M
Health Care and Social Assistance
$3.55M
Manufacturing
$3.22M
Transportation and Warehousing

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Civics

In the 2020 presidential election, the popular vote in Jefferson County, KY went to Joseph R Biden Jr. with 59.1% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (39%), followed by Jo Jorgensen (1.24%).

Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul are the senators currently representing the state of Kentucky. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Kentucky is currently represented by 6 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

2020 Election Results

Joseph R Biden Jr. (59.1%)
Democratic Party
Donald J. Trump (39%)
Republican Party
Jo Jorgensen (1.24%)
Libertarian Party

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Jefferson County, KY for each registered party from 1976 to 2020.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Kentucky

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Kentucky.

Mitch McConnell

Senator from Kentucky

Assumed office on January 3, 1985

Rand Paul

Senator from Kentucky

Assumed office on January 3, 2011

Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul are the senators currently representing Kentucky.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Kentucky over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

US Representative Elections

US Representatives from Kentucky

Kentucky is currently represented by 6 members in the U.S. house.

Members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms, and the following chart shows the how the members for Kentucky have changed over time starting in 2008.

Education

In 2022, universities in Jefferson County, KY awarded 14,943 degrees. The student population of Jefferson County, KY in 2022 is skewed towards women, with 21,112 male students and 29,867 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Jefferson County, KY are White (10,100 and 69%), followed by Black or African American (1,953 and 13.3%), Hispanic or Latino (954 and 6.52%), and Two or More Races (639 and 4.37%).

The largest universities in Jefferson County, KY by number of degrees awarded are University of Louisville (5,751 and 38.5%), Jefferson Community and Technical College (4,096 and 27.4%), and Galen College of Nursing-Louisville (156471) (1,166 and 7.8%).

The most popular majors in Jefferson County, KY are Registered Nursing (1,790 and 12%), Liberal Arts & Sciences (813 and 5.44%), and General Computer & Information Sciences (792 and 5.3%).

The median tuition costs in Jefferson County, KY are $21,454 for private four year colleges, and $12,324 and $28,670 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2022 in Jefferson County, KY, the percentage of applicants admitted was 83.2%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 22.4%. The number of students enrolled in 2022 was 50,979 (41.4% men and 58.6% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2022 there were 50,979 students enrolled in Jefferson County, KY, 41.4% men and 58.6% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 31,141 records, of which 56.3% were women and 43.7% men.

Completions

Concentrations

In 2022, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Jefferson County, KY was N/A with N/A degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Jefferson County, KY according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

University of Louisville
5,751 degrees awarded
Jefferson Community and Technical College
4,096 degrees awarded
Galen College of Nursing-Louisville (156471)
1,166 degrees awarded

In 2022, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of Louisville with 5,751 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2022, 6,599 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Jefferson County, KY, which is 0.791 times less than the 8,344 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2022 the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 10,100 degrees mean that there were 5.17 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 1,953 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($21,454) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2022.

Private for-profit, 2-year ($750) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2022.

Private for-profit, 2-year ($3,416) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Working Population

Educational Pyramid

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for N/A.

Measure

In N/A, N/A% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while N/A% of women were in the same situation.

This visualization shows the gender distribution of the population according to the academic level reached.

Educational Attainment

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for N/A.

Race

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population in 2022 were N/A.

This visualization illustrates the percentage distribution of the population according to the highest educational level reached. You can filter the data by race by using the selector above.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Jefferson County, KY was $237,200 in 2023, which is 0.782 times smaller than the national average of $303,400. Between 2022 and 2023 the median property value increased from $222,200 to $237,200, a 6.75% increase. The homeownership rate in Jefferson County, KY is 61.8%, which is approximately the same as the national average of 65%.

People in Jefferson County, KY have an average commute time of 22.3 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Jefferson County, KY is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Median household income in Jefferson County, KY is $67,849. In 2023, the tract with the highest Median Household Income in Jefferson County, KY was Census Tract 103.17 with a value of $187,770, followed by Census Tract 75.01 and Census Tract 87, with respective values of $171,167 and $159,531.

Housing

Property

$237,200

Median Property Value 2023

±$2,505

$203,618

Median Property Taxes

±$3,194

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Jefferson County, KY the largest share of households pay taxes in the $800 - $1,499 range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Jefferson County, KY compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Equity

Income by Location

Use the dropdown to filter by race/ethnicity.

Race/Ethnicity

Highest Median Household Income (Total)

Census Tract 103.17
Census Tract 75.01
Census Tract 87

In 2023, the tract with the highest Median Household Income (Total) in Jefferson County, KY was Census Tract 103.17 with a value of $187,770, followed by Census Tract 75.01 and Census Tract 87, with respective values of $171,167 and $159,531.

The following map shows all of the tracts in Jefferson County, KY colored by their Median Household Income (Total).

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$67,849

Median Household Income

± $1,081

329k

Number of Households

± 4,611

In 2023, the median household income of the 329k households in Jefferson County, KY grew to $67,849 from the previous year's value of $66,296.

The following chart displays the households in Jefferson County, KY distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Jefferson County, KY is from Kentucky.

0.452

2022 Wage GINI in Kentucky

0.453

2021 Wage GINI in Kentucky

In 2022, the income inequality in Kentucky was 0.452 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.286% decline from 2021 to 2022, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Kentucky was lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Kentucky in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Kentucky across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2023

Drove Alone (73.7%)
Worked At Home (12.4%)
Carpooled (8.33%)

In 2023, 73.7% of workers in Jefferson County, KY drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (12.4%) and those who carpooled to work (8.33%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

22.3 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Jefferson County, KY have a shorter commute time (22.3 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 1.35% of the workforce in Jefferson County, KY have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Jefferson County, KY compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Jefferson County, KY distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Jefferson County, KY have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

14.5% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Jefferson County, KY (111k out of 763k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.4%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 18 - 24 and then Females 35 - 44.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Jefferson County, KY is White, followed by Black and Hispanic.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Health

94.4% of the population of Jefferson County, KY has health coverage, with 48.1% on employee plans, 21.4% on Medicaid, 12.6% on Medicare, 11.1% on non-group plans, and 1.21% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Jefferson County, KY see 1060 patients per year on average, which represents a 0.469% decrease from the previous year (1065 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 953 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 280 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 47.6% were men and 52.4% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,060 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Jefferson County, KY

Primary care physicians in Jefferson County, KY see an average of 1,060 patients per year. This represents a 0.469% decrease from the previous year (1,065 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Jefferson County, KY in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2023, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 23.6% under 18 years, 21.9% between 18 and 34 years, 37.9% between 35 and 64 years, and 16.6% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 47.6% were men and 52.4% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

5.57%

Uninsured

48.1%

Employer Coverage

21.4%

Medicaid

12.6%

Medicare

11.1%

Non-Group

1.21%

Military or VA

Between 2022 and 2023, the percent of uninsured citizens in Jefferson County, KY grew by 4.13% from 5.35% to 5.57%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Jefferson County, KY changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.