Kentucky Fact Sheet
This information was compiled from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau on the USA Quickfacts website (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/21000.html). Unless otherwise noted, this data is from the 2000 census.
Income
- Median income per Kentucky household is $37,046 (compared to the national median of $44,334) (2004)
- 16.3% of residents live below the poverty level (compared to 12.7% nationally) (2004)
- 18.1% of families with children under 18 live below the poverty level
- 42.7% of female-headed households with children under 18 live below the poverty level
Education
- 25.9% of residents 25 years or older do not have a high school degree or GED (compared to 19.6% nationally)
- 17.1% of residents 24 years or older have at least a bachelor’s degree (compared to 24.4% nationally)
- 11.7% of residents 25 years or older have less than a 9th grade education
Employment
- 76.5% of nondisabled Kentucky residents age 21 – 64 are employed
- 24% of residents age 21 – 64 have a disability
- 46.9% of residents age 21 – 64 with a disability are employed
- Average travel time to work for Kentucky residents is 23.5 minutes
- 80.2% of Kentuckians drive to work and do not carpool
- 12.6% drive to work and do carpool
- 3.3% walk or bike to work
- 1.2% of Kentuckians travel to work via public transportation
Race / Ethnicity
- 90.2% of Kentucky residents are Caucasian (compared to 80.1% of the total U.S. population) (2006)
- 7.5% of residents are African American (compared to 12.8% of the total U.S. population) (2006)
- 3.2% of residents are Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander or of Hispanic origin (2006)
- 2% of West Virginia residents were born in another country (compared to 11.1% of the total U.S. population)
Housing
- 70.8% of Kentucky residents own the home they live in (compared to 66.2% nationally)
- 64.7% of owner-occupied homes in Kentucky carry a mortgage
- The median mortgage in Kentucky is $816 per month
- 12.3% of home owners pay 35% or more of household income for housing
- The median rent in Kentucky is $445 per month
- 25.6% of renters pay 35% or more of household income for housing
- 0.9% of homes in Kentucky lack complete plumbing
Health Insurance
- An estimated 13.3% of Kentucky residents do not have health insurance
- As estimated 9.5% of Kentucky children (under 18) do not have health insurance