Powell County, KY

County

Add Comparison
2024 Population
13,038
US Senator
Mitch McConnell
Republican Party
US Senator
Rand Paul
Republican Party
2024 Poverty Rate
22.5%
3.35% 1-year increase
2024 Median Household Income
$40,309
1.25% 1-year growth
2024 Median Property Value
$141,100
0.913% 1-year decline
2024 Employed Population
4,767
2.69% 1-year decline

About

None of the households in Powell 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.

100% of the residents in Powell County, KY are U.S. citizens.

In 2024, the median property value in Powell County, KY was $141,100, and the homeownership rate was 68.2%.

Most people in Powell County, KY drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 26.6 minutes. The average car ownership in Powell County, KY was 2 cars per household.

United StatesKentucky

Population & Diversity

Powell County, KY is home to a population of 13k people, from which 100% are citizens. As of 2024, 0.721% of Powell County, KY residents were born outside of the country (94 people).

In 2024, there were 46.2 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (12.2k people) in Powell County, KY than any other race or ethnicity. There were 264 Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 160 Two Races Including Other (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

100%
2024 Citizenship
100%
2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 100% of Powell County, KY residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Powell County, KY was 100%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

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

View Data
Save Image

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Powell County, KY
  1. White (Non-Hispanic)
    12.2k ± 197
  2. Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
    264 ± 57
  3. Two Races Including Other (Non-Hispanic)
    160 ± 150
1.64%
Hispanic Population
214 people

In 2024, there were 46.2 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (12.2k people) in Powell County, KY than any other race or ethnicity. There were 264 Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 160 Two Races Including Other (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

1.64% of the people in Powell County, KY are hispanic (214 people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Powell County, KY as a share of the total population.

View Data
Save Image

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for Kentucky.
Most Common Origin
  1. Mexico
    34,091 ± 4,516 people
  2. Cuba
    20,475 ± 3,505 people
  3. India
    12,629 ± 2,755 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Kentucky was Mexico, the natal country of 34,091 Kentucky residents, followed by Cuba with 20,475 and India with 12,629.

View Data
Save Image

Foreign-Born Population

0.721%
2024 Foreign-Born Population
94 people
1.12%
2023 Foreign-Born Population
146 people

As of 2024, 0.721% of Powell County, KY residents (94 people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Powell County, KY was 1.12%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

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

View Data
Save Image

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period
  1. Vietnam
    303 ± 101
  2. Gulf War (2001-)
    102 ± 68
  3. Gulf War (1990s)
    86 ± 56

Powell County, KY has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 2.97 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Powell County, KY.

View Data
Save Image

Economy

The economy of Powell County, KY employs 4.77k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Powell County, KY were Retail Trade (886 people), Manufacturing (689 people), and Construction (549 people), and the highest paying industries were Manufacturing ($61,464), Transportation & Warehousing ($61,458), and Educational Services ($48,942).

Employment

Occupations

4.77k
2024 Value
± 529
−2.69%
1 Year decline
± 16.3%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Powell County, KY declined at a rate of −2.69%, from 4.9k employees to 4.77k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Powell County, KY, are Sales & Related Occupations (672 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (640 people), and Construction & Extraction Occupations (497 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Powell County, KY.

View Data
Save Image

Unemployment Insurance Claims

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

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.

View Data
Save Image

Industries

Employment by Industries

4.77k
2024 Value
± 529
−2.69%
1 Year decline
± 16.3%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Powell County, KY declined at a rate of −2.69%, from 4.9k employees to 4.77k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Powell County, KY, are Retail Trade (886 people), Manufacturing (689 people), and Construction (549 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Powell County, KY, though some of these residents may live in Powell County, KY and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

View Data
Save Image

Median Earnings by Industry

$43,692
Median earning men ± $5,793
$24,529
Median earning women ± $5,534

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($85,000), Manufacturing ($66,301), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($61,563).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Public Administration ($55,096), Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($40,119), and Construction ($39,330).

View Data
Save Image

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.

View Data
Save Image

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments
  1. 20
    Retail Trade
  2. 18
    Retail Trade
  3. 17
    Other Services (except Public Administration)

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

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

View Data
Save Image

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll
  1. $12.2k
    Transportation and Warehousing
  2. $10.4k
    Manufacturing
  3. $9.97k
    Retail Trade

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

View Data
Save Image

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Kentucky went to Donald J. Trump with 64.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (33.9%), followed by Robert Kennedy (0.808%).

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

Voting results are not available for Powell County, KY. Showing the available data for Kentucky.
2024 Election Results
  1. Donald J. Trump (64.5%)
    Republican Party
  2. Kamala Harris (33.9%)
    Democratic Party
  3. Robert Kennedy (0.808%)
    Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Kentucky went to Donald J. Trump with 64.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (33.9%), followed by Robert Kennedy (0.808%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Kentucky for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

View Data
Save Image

Senator Elections

US Senators from Kentucky

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Kentucky.
Mitch McConnell
Senator from Kentucky2
Assumed office on January 3, 1985
Rand Paul
Senator from Kentucky3
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.

View Data
Save Image

Housing & Living

The median property value in Powell County, KY was $141,100 in 2024, which is 0.424 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $142,400 to $141,100, a 0.913% decrease. The homeownership rate in Powell County, KY is 68.2%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Powell County, KY have an average commute time of 26.6 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Powell County, KY is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 16% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Powell County, KY. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.03%.

Housing

Property

$141,100
Median Property Value 2024
±$17,610
$3,269
Median Property Taxes
±$394

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 Powell County, KY the largest share of households pay taxes in the < $800 range.

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

View Data
Save Image
View Data
Save Image

Rent vs Own

68.2%
Homeownership
2024
64.2%
Homeowners with Mortgage
2024

In 2024, 68.2% of the housing units in Powell County, KY were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 69.2%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Powell County, KY compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

View Data
Save Image

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.
$40,309
Median Household Income
± $6,520
4.79k
Number of Households
± 490

In 2024, the median household income of the 4.79k households in Powell County, KY grew to $40,309 from the previous year's value of $39,811.

The following chart displays the households in Powell 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 < $10k range.

View Data
Save Image

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Powell County, KY is from Kentucky.
0.449
2023 Wage GINI in Kentucky
0.452
2022 Wage GINI in Kentucky

In 2023, the income inequality in Kentucky was 0.449 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.729% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Kentucky was lower than than the national average of 0.476. 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.

View Data
Save Image

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024
  1. Drove Alone (88.6%)
  2. Carpooled (6.2%)
  3. Worked At Home (4.03%)

In 2024, 88.6% of workers in Powell County, KY drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (6.2%) and those who worked at home (4.03%).

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.

View Data
Save Image

Commute Time

26.6 minutes
Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Powell County, KY have a longer commute time (26.6 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.39% of the workforce in Powell County, KY have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

View Data
Save Image
View Data
Save Image

Car Ownership

2 cars
Average Number

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

View Data
Save Image

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 16% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Powell County, KY. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.03%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

View Data
Save Image

Poverty & Diversity

22.5% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Powell County, KY (2.84k out of 12.7k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 18 - 24, followed by Males 6 - 11 and then Males 45 - 54.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Powell 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.

View Data
Save Image

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 28.4% of the children was living in poverty in Powell County, KY. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 13.5%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

View Data
Save Image

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 60.8 in Powell County, KY. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator declined 10.5 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

View Data
Save Image

Health

94.3% of the population of Powell County, KY has health coverage, with 34.5% on employee plans, 36.2% on Medicaid, 13.6% on Medicare, 7.43% on non-group plans, and 2.56% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Powell County, KY see 13,133 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (13,133 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 3271 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 865 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.2% were men and 50.8% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

13,133 to 1
Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Powell County, KY

Primary care physicians in Powell County, KY see an average of 13,133 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (13,133 patients).

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

View Data
Save Image

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 26.8% under 18 years, 18.5% between 18 and 34 years, 38.6% between 35 and 64 years, and 16.2% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.2% were men and 50.8% were women.

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

View Data
Save Image

Uninsured People

5.65%
Uninsured
34.5%
Employer Coverage
36.2%
Medicaid
13.6%
Medicare
7.43%
Non-Group
2.56%
Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Powell County, KY grew by 13.3% from 4.99% to 5.65%.

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

View Data
Save Image

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 76.1 in Powell County, KY.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Powell County, KY.

View Data
Save Image

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 39.7% in Powell County, KY.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Powell County, KY.

View Data
Save Image

Clinical Care

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of population under age 65 without health insurance was 6.24% in Powell County, KY.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Powell County, KY.

View Data
Save Image