Owsley County, KY

Designated Market Area: Lexington, KY
USDA County Type (2015): Low Education, Low Employment, Retirement Destination, Persistent Poverty
American Communities Project County Type (2023): Evangelical Hubs

Places in Owsley County, KY [Sort places by name]

2022 population: 3,929 ( 826 from 2010 , 123 from 2020)
Land area: 197.4 square miles
Population density: 19.9 persons per square mile

2022 Census data
White:	3,743	95.27%	19.7%
Black:	32	0.81%	146.2%
Indian:	14	0.36%	16.7%
Asian:	5	0.13%	150.0%
2+ races:	50	1.27%	85.2%
Hispanic:	85	2.16%	117.9%

Total non-White:	186	4.73%	93.8%

2020-2022 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	110	13.6
Deaths:	225	27.8
Net Migration:	-5	-0.6
Net Immigration:	0	0.0

Change in White population:	-916	-19.3
Change in Non-White pop.:	90	1.9

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2010
4,755
4,659	97.98%
13	0.27%
12	0.25%
2	0.04%
27	0.57%
39	0.82%
96	2.02%

2000
4,858
4,785	98.50%
5	0.10%
3	0.06%
3	0.06%
26	0.54%
35	0.72%
73	1.50%

1990
5,036
5,023	99.74%
0	0.00%
0	0.00%
7	0.14%
n/a
6	0.12%
13	0.26%

1980
5,709
5,680	99.49%
1	0.02%
5	0.09%
0	0.00%
n/a
23	0.40%
29	0.51%

1970
5,023
4,960	98.75%
61	1.21%
1	0.02%
1	0.02%
n/a
0	0.00%
63	1.25%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2000's
542	11.2
661	13.6
-104	-2.1
6	0.1

-126	-2.6
23	0.5

Number	Rate
1990's
677	13.4
679	13.5
377	7.5
2	0.0

-238	-4.7
60	1.2

Number	Rate
1980's
767	13.4
599	10.5
-806	-14.1
n/a

-657	-11.5
-16	-0.3

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
253	5.0
n/a

720	14.3
-34	-0.7

Age, Family & Household Data for Owsley County, KY

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2022
Number	Percent
48.0
751	19.1%
3,178	80.9%
893	22.7%

1,383
2.86

842	60.9%
600	71.3%
45	5.3%
541	39.1%

2010
Number	Percent
42.2
1,058	22.3%
3,697	77.7%
797	16.8%

1,914
2.44

1,293	67.6%
896	69.3%
112	8.7%
621	32.4%

2000
Number	Percent
38.0
1,180	24.3%
3,678	75.7%
743	15.3%

1,913
2.49

1,408	73.6%
1,024	72.7%
175	12.4%
505	26.4%

1990
Number	Percent
34.3
1,326	26.3%
3,710	73.7%
780	15.5%

1,815
2.72

1,427	78.6%
1,182	82.8%
90	6.3%
388	21.4%

1980
Number	Percent
29.8
1,843	32.3%
3,866	67.7%
790	13.8%

1,850
3.08

1,550	83.8%
1,341	86.5%
81	5.2%
300	16.2%

2022 Housing Data for Owsley County, KY

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	155	11.2%
$10,000 to $14,999	191	13.8%
$15,000 to $19,999	89	6.4%
$20,000 to $24,999	100	7.2%
$25,000 to $29,999	110	8.0%
$30,000 to $34,999	81	5.9%
$35,000 to $39,999	40	2.9%
$40,000 to $44,999	67	4.8%
$45,000 to $49,999	64	4.6%
$50,000 to $59,999	82	5.9%
$60,000 to $74,999	51	3.7%
$75,000 to $99,999	222	16.1%
$100,000 to $124,999	43	3.1%
$125,000 to $149,999	48	3.5%
$150,000 to $199,999	40	2.9%

Median Household Income	32,844
Per Capita Income	19,405

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to state	88
Compared to U.S.	71

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	362	26.2%
Public Assistance	33	2.4%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	413	29.9%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	915	35.9%
Unemployed	181	7.1%
In Armed Forces	0	0.0%

Total Labor Force	1,096	43.0%
Not in Labor Force	1,450	57.0%

Real Unemployment Rate		64.1%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	366	304	54.6%
Non-Profit	0	70	0.0%
Self-Employed	68	36	65.4%

Local Government	87	15	85.3%
State Government	80	10	88.9%
Federal Government	54	8	87.1%

Total Private + Self	434	340	56.1%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	221	103	68.2%
Total	655	443	59.7%

Pct. Govt.	23.1%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	151	13.8%
Sales and Office Occupations	149	13.6%
Professional, Technical	170	15.5%
Service Occupations	281	25.6%
All others	347	31.6%

White Collar		42.8%

Industry
	Number	%
Health care and social assistance	224	20.4%
Manufacturing	126	11.5%
Public administration	123	11.2%
Construction	103	9.4%
Retail trade	89	8.1%
Educational services	85	7.7%
Utilities	60	5.5%
Accommodation and food services	55	5.0%
Other services	55	5.0%
Professional, scientific, technical	33	3.0%
Finance and insurance	31	2.8%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	29	2.6%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	26	2.4%
Information	21	1.9%
Transportation and warehousing	19	1.7%
Real estate and rental and leasing	10	0.9%
Wholesale trade	5	0.5%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction	4	0.4%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	0	0.00%
Puerto Rican	0	0.00%
Cuban	0	0.00%
Dominican	0	0.00%

Total Central American	0	0.00%
Costa Rican	0	0.00%
Guatemalan	0	0.00%
Honduran	0	0.00%
Nicaraguan	0	0.00%
Panamanian	0	0.00%
Salvadoran	0	0.00%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	0	0.00%
Argentinean	0	0.00%
Bolivian	0	0.00%
Chilean	0	0.00%
Colombian	0	0.00%
Ecuadorian	0	0.00%
Paraguayan	0	0.00%
Peruvian	0	0.00%
Uruguayan	0	0.00%
Venezuelan	0	0.00%
Other South American	0	0.00%

Other Hispanic	0	0.00%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Korean	6	0.15%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	3,827	100.0%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
American	2,079	51.3%
English	634	15.6%
German	230	5.7%
Irish	179	4.4%
Scotch-Irish	123	3.0%
Scottish	34	0.8%
Northern European	25	0.6%
European	19	0.5%
Italian	14	0.3%
Greek	10	0.2%
Polish	10	0.2%
Dutch	4	0.1%
French	4	0.1%
Welsh	2	0.0%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	4,054	100.0%
Not a citizen	0	0.0%

Native	4,048	99.9%
Foreign-born	6	0.1%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
481	15.9%	383	12.7%	1,319	43.7%	501	16.6%	226	7.5%	109	3.6%
Average years of education: 11.5

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	481	15.9%
9-12 Years	383	12.7%
H.S. Grad or GED	1,319	43.7%
Some College	501	16.6%
Bach. Degree	226	7.5%
Grad Degree	109	3.6%
Average years of education: 11.5

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	1,377	1,258	119	8.6%	6.0%
1991	1,435	1,317	118	8.2%	7.3%
1992	1,528	1,401	127	8.3%	6.9%
1993	1,477	1,399	78	5.3%	6.2%
1994	1,512	1,444	68	4.5%	5.4%
1995	1,569	1,473	96	6.1%	5.4%
1996	1,571	1,488	83	5.3%	5.4%
1997	1,630	1,548	82	5.0%	5.2%
1998	1,702	1,622	80	4.7%	4.5%
1999	1,735	1,643	92	5.3%	4.5%

2000	1,525	1,439	86	5.6%	4.1%
2001	1,577	1,469	108	6.8%	5.2%
2002	1,606	1,497	109	6.8%	5.8%
2003	1,588	1,451	137	8.6%	6.2%
2004	1,577	1,459	118	7.5%	5.5%
2005	1,549	1,430	119	7.7%	5.9%
2006	1,532	1,406	126	8.2%	5.7%
2007	1,579	1,435	144	9.1%	5.4%
2008	1,533	1,409	124	8.1%	6.5%
2009	1,580	1,407	173	10.9%	10.8%

2010	1,370	1,186	184	13.4%	10.3%
2011	1,394	1,209	185	13.3%	9.4%
2012	1,328	1,157	171	12.9%	8.2%
2013	1,290	1,129	161	12.5%	7.9%
2014	1,179	1,056	123	10.4%	6.4%
2015	1,137	1,023	114	10.0%	5.2%
2016	1,120	1,012	108	9.6%	5.0%
2017	1,097	1,008	89	8.1%	4.8%
2018	1,135	1,054	81	7.1%	4.2%
2019	1,091	1,015	76	7.0%	4.1%

2020	1,061	982	79	7.4%	6.6%
2021	1,056	985	71	6.7%	4.4%
2022	1,075	1,001	74	6.9%	3.9%
2023	1,090	1,018	72	6.6%	4.2%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	1,948
Median Value	$78,500

Occupied	1,383	71.0%
Vacant	565	29.0%

Owned	875	63.3%
Rented	508	36.7%
Median Rent	n/a

Single-Family Units	1,310	67.2%
Detached	1,296	66.5%
Attached	14	0.7%
Buldings with 5+ Units	101	5.2%
Mobile Homes	447	22.9%

Owsley County, KY

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Owsley County, KY

2022 Housing Data for Owsley County, KY

2022 Income & Employment Data for Owsley County, KY

2022 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Owsley County, KY

2022 Educational Attainment Data for Owsley County, KY

Historical Labor Force Data for Owsley County, KY