Wolfe County, KY

County

Add Comparison

2023 Population

6,484

1.35% 1-year decline

US Senator

Mitch McConnell

Republican Party

US Senator

Rand Paul

Republican Party

2023 Median Age

41.5

1.22% 1-year increase

2023 Poverty Rate

38.1%

3.6% 1-year increase

2023 Median Household Income

$29,052

1.35% 1-year growth

2023 Median Property Value

$66,400

6.75% 1-year growth

2023 Employed Population

1,502

1.64% 1-year decline

About

In 2023, Wolfe County, KY had a population of 6.48k people with a median age of 41.5 and a median household income of $29,052. Between 2022 and 2023 the population of Wolfe County, KY declined from 6,573 to 6,484, a −1.35% decrease and its median household income grew from $28,666 to $29,052, a 1.35% increase.

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Wolfe County, KY are White (Non-Hispanic) (96.1%), Other (Hispanic) (1.57%), Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (1.57%), Other (Non-Hispanic) (0.386%), and Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (0.216%).

None of the households in Wolfe 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.

98.4% of the residents in Wolfe County, KY are U.S. citizens.

In 2023, the median property value in Wolfe County, KY was $66,400, and the homeownership rate was 69.9%.

Most people in Wolfe County, KY drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 31.2 minutes. The average car ownership in Wolfe County, KY was 2 cars per household.

Wolfe County, KY borders Breathitt County, KY, Lee County, KY, Magoffin County, KY, Menifee County, KY, Morgan County, KY, and Powell County, KY.

United States Kentucky

Population & Diversity

Wolfe County, KY is home to a population of 6.48k people, from which 98.4% are citizens. As of 2023, 1.57% of Wolfe County, KY residents were born outside of the country (102 people).

In 2023, there were 61.1 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (6.23k people) in Wolfe County, KY than any other race or ethnicity. There were 102 Other (Hispanic) and 102 Two+ (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.4%

2023 Citizenship

99.9%

2022 Citizenship

As of 2023, 98.4% of Wolfe County, KY residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.4%. In 2022, the percentage of US citizens in Wolfe County, KY was 99.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Wolfe County, KY

White (Non-Hispanic)
6.23k ± 61
Other (Hispanic)
102 ± 90
Two+ (Non-Hispanic)
102 ± 96.2

1.57%

Hispanic Population

102 people

1.57% of the people in Wolfe County, KY are hispanic (102 people).

The following chart shows the 7 races represented in Wolfe 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

1.57%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

102 people

0.0761%

2022 Foreign-Born Population

5 people

As of 2023, 1.57% of Wolfe County, KY residents (102 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 Wolfe County, KY was 0.0761%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
86 ± 66
Gulf War (2001-)
58 ± 45
Gulf War (1990s)
30 ± 36

Wolfe County, KY has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.48 times greater than any other conflict.

Economy

The economy of Wolfe County, KY employs 1.5k people. The largest industries in Wolfe County, KY are Health Care & Social Assistance (268 people), Manufacturing (232 people), and Retail Trade (196 people), and the highest paying industries are Public Administration ($39,219), Health Care & Social Assistance ($32,782), and Other Services Except Public Administration ($31,389).

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

1.5k

2023 Value

± 289

−1.64%

1 Year decline

± 27.5%

From 2022 to 2023, employment in Wolfe County, KY declined at a rate of −1.64%, from 1.53k employees to 1.5k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Wolfe County, KY, are Production Occupations (218 people), Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations (206 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (185 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Wolfe 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.

View Full Dashboard

Industries

Employment by Industries

1.5k

2023 Value

± 289

−1.64%

1 Year decline

± 27.5%

From 2022 to 2023, employment in Wolfe County, KY declined at a rate of −1.64%, from 1.53k employees to 1.5k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Wolfe County, KY, are Health Care & Social Assistance (268 people), Manufacturing (232 people), and Retail Trade (196 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Wolfe County, KY, though some of these residents may live in Wolfe County, KY and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$29,737

Median earning men ± $10,895

$14,286

Median earning women ± $9,211

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2023 are Other Services Except Public Administration ($65,000), Public Administration ($45,139), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($41,577).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2023 are Public Administration ($39,063), Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($19,712), and Retail Trade ($14,750).

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

11
Retail Trade
8
Retail Trade
7
Health Care and Social Assistance

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

$12.3k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$7.03k
Transportation and Warehousing
$3.94k
Manufacturing

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

Civics

In the 2020 presidential election, the popular vote in Wolfe County, KY went to Donald J. Trump with 70.4% of the vote. The runner-up was Joseph R Biden Jr. (28.2%), followed by Other (0.739%).

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

Donald J. Trump (70.4%)
Republican Party
Joseph R Biden Jr. (28.2%)
Democratic Party
Other (0.739%)
Other Party

In the 2020 presidential election, the popular vote in Wolfe County, KY went to Donald J. Trump with 70.4% of the vote. The runner-up was Joseph R Biden Jr. (28.2%), followed by Other (0.739%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Wolfe 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

Completions

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.

Working Population

Educational Pyramid

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

Measure

In 2022, 0.821% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while 0.756% 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 Kentucky.

Race

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population in 2022 were High School or Equivalent (1.17M), Some college (766k), and Secondary Education (551k).

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 Wolfe County, KY was $66,400 in 2023, which is 0.219 times smaller than the national average of $303,400. Between 2022 and 2023 the median property value increased from $62,200 to $66,400, a 6.75% increase. The homeownership rate in Wolfe County, KY is 69.9%, which is approximately the same as the national average of 65%.

People in Wolfe County, KY have an average commute time of 31.2 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Wolfe County, KY is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2023, 13.8% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Wolfe County, KY. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator grew 1.59%.

Housing

Property

$66,400

Median Property Value 2023

±$15,484

$1,778

Median Property Taxes

±$285

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

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

Rent vs Own

69.9%

Homeownership

2023

67.1%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2023

In 2023, 69.9% of the housing units in Wolfe County, KY were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 68.2%.

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

Equity

Income by Location

Use the dropdown to filter by race/ethnicity.

Race/Ethnicity

Highest Median Household Income (Total)

Census Tract 9301
Census Tract 9302

The following map shows all of the tracts in Wolfe 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.

$29,052

Median Household Income

± $5,764

2.55k

Number of Households

± 355

In 2023, the median household income of the 2.55k households in Wolfe County, KY grew to $29,052 from the previous year's value of $28,666.

The following chart displays the households in Wolfe 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.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Wolfe 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 (74.7%)
Carpooled (15.5%)
Worked At Home (7.67%)

In 2023, 74.7% of workers in Wolfe County, KY drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (15.5%) and those who worked at home (7.67%).

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

31.2 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Wolfe County, KY have a longer commute time (31.2 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 1.78% of the workforce in Wolfe County, KY have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Wolfe 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 Wolfe County, KY distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Wolfe County, KY have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2023, 13.8% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Wolfe County, KY. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator grew 1.59%.

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

Poverty & Diversity

38.1% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Wolfe County, KY (2.4k out of 6.31k 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 Males 45 - 54, followed by Males 25 - 34 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Wolfe County, KY is White, followed by Other 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.

Children in Poverty

In 2023, 42.6% of the children was living in poverty in Wolfe County, KY. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator declined 7.3%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children 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

97.7% of the population of Wolfe County, KY has health coverage, with 12.5% on employee plans, 59.4% on Medicaid, 14.8% on Medicare, 9.2% on non-group plans, and 1.82% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Wolfe County, KY see 7106 patients per year on average, which represents a 0.713% decrease from the previous year (7157 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 6507 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 465 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.7% were men and 50.3% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

7,106 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Wolfe County, KY

Primary care physicians in Wolfe County, KY see an average of 7,106 patients per year. This represents a 0.713% decrease from the previous year (7,157 patients).

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

Health Care Diversity

In 2023, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 24.4% under 18 years, 19.1% between 18 and 34 years, 38.1% between 35 and 64 years, and 18.4% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.7% were men and 50.3% were women.

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

Uninsured People

2.26%

Uninsured

12.5%

Employer Coverage

59.4%

Medicaid

14.8%

Medicare

9.2%

Non-Group

1.82%

Military or VA

Between 2022 and 2023, the percent of uninsured citizens in Wolfe County, KY grew by 117% from 1.04% to 2.26%.

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