Clark County, KY

County Profile

37,192 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Clark County, KY.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 31% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 46% of 1,463 counties measured57
SchoolsTop 30% of 1,377 counties measured65
GrowthTop 32% of 1,453 counties measured60
Housing affordability861st of 1,462 counties measured72
ClimateTop 26% of 1,463 counties measured74
Physical resilienceTop 30% of 1,463 counties measured73
Access1,323rd of 1,463 counties measured50
Economic stability1,044th of 1,463 counties measured43
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.6% and median household income $64,348, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 49% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.3 students for every teacher.

166 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
37,192
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$64,348
Bottom 48% nationally
Density
147/sq mi
252.5 sq mi of land
Median age
40.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Clark County
Kentucky
Nearest major airport
CVG
80 mi · Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Intl
Median home value
$205,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% — higher than in all but 31% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 1.4% over the past year, to 17,414 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$51,49826th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$53,89037th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,9122024 ACS 5-Year$64,348Bottom 48%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,6992024 ACS 5-Year$37,681Top 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$51,276Bottom 30%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.8%Bottom 37%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.0 minBottom 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.9%Top 47%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year78.4%55th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202617,414Bottom 26%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+4.0%Top 13%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.4%Top 15%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202618,25026th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year73.1%Bottom 38%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%34th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 39%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.6%Bottom 31%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.3%77th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.23.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.6% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202468k59k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $64,348 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Lexington-Fayette, KY

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators8,650$59,730
General and Operations Managers8,100$80,440
Registered Nurses8,070$79,040
Retail Salespersons7,810$30,100
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,500$27,990
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand5,500$41,910

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 56% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.3 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.3
across 8 of them
Math proficiency
49.2%
Top 24% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
55.9%
Top 34% in Kentucky
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
George Rogers Clark High SchoolClark County1,57818.139%50%
Rev. Henry E. Baker Sr. Interm. SchoolClark County76716.766%65%
Robert D. Campbell Jr. HighClark County75314.850%62%
Strode Station Elementary SchoolClark County54213.261%59%
William G. Conkwright ElementaryClark County49911.950%55%
Willis H. Justice Elementary SchoolClark County48113.442%52%
Shearer Elementary SchoolClark County41314.847%52%
Clark County PreschoolClark County28818.0——
Phoenix AcademyClark County191.7——
Clark County Area Technology CenterKentucky Tech System0———

61.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Kentucky’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area is up 53% over five years, and up 6.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,451 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.71% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,272, some 36% above the $938 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,272 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $50,900 a year, about 79% of the median household income here of $64,348.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $938 a month.

A median home at $205,800 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $81,173, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
92.5

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
30.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,272
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$938
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$205,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Clark County’s median household income of $64,348, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area’s figure202392.5Top 38%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.1%89th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+52.5%80th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+103.3%66th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.5Bottom 48%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year70.7%31st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±342024 ACS 5-Year16,41858th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,079Bottom 37%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,743Bottom 34%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,272Bottom 40%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$312024 ACS 5-Year$938Bottom 39%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,3042024 ACS 5-Year$205,80058th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$472024 ACS 5-Year$1,45144th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,8602024 ACS 5-Year$81,173Top 40%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.71%41st percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year30.5%Bottom 24%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±502024 ACS 5-Year408th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%4th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%42nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2642024 ACS 5-Year1,36341st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

60/ 100
Top 32% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 37,673 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 166 units authorized in 2025, up 4% on the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Clark County gained about 0.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $51,498, close to the $53,890 of households that moved out.

At 4.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
166
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.5
Top 32% nationally
Year over year
+4%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
41.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202438k37k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
19%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,498
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$53,890
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Fayette County, KY 519 people · 28% of arrivals
  2. Montgomery County, KY 154 people · 8.2% of arrivals
  3. Madison County, KY 146 people · 7.8% of arrivals
  4. Powell County, KY 62 people · 3.3% of arrivals
  5. Bourbon County, KY 61 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fayette County, KY 334 people · 20% of departures
  2. Madison County, KY 238 people · 14% of departures
  3. Montgomery County, KY 151 people · 9.1% of departures
  4. Powell County, KY 76 people · 4.6% of departures
  5. Scott County, KY 52 people · 3.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025186120
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+38%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 49.8 inches, including 14.5 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LEXINGTON BLUEGRASS AP, 25.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals49.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals14.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

73 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 51% of it.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 70% of measured US counties.

Strong windModerate
TornadoModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, ice storm, hail, cold wave, heat wave, landslide, hurricane, drought, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Clark County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.9 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 17.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 37.5 per 100,000 residents in Clark County.

Homicide
4.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
17.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
37.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Clark County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Intl at 80 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year90.9%Top 20%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle80 miBottom 9%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.1%Top 24%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky IntlCVG80 mi10,000 ft
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF88 mi11,887 ft
Wilmington Air ParkILN102 mi10,701 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
65
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Clark County, KY

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.