Garrard County, KY

County Profile

17,568 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Garrard 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.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 34% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 50% of 1,463 counties measured55
Schools1,095th of 1,377 counties measured26
Growth789th of 1,453 counties measured47
Housing affordabilityTop 48% of 1,462 counties measured74
ClimateTop 26% of 1,463 counties measured74
Physical resilience808th of 1,463 counties measured55
Access1,295th of 1,463 counties measured53
Economic stability1,037th of 1,463 counties measured43
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.6% and median household income $63,087, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 39% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.9 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 29% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.9 times what its owners earn.

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
17,568
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$63,087
Bottom 45% nationally
Density
76/sq mi
229.9 sq mi of land
Median age
43.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Garrard County
Kentucky
Metro area
—
Nearest major airport
SDF
75 mi · Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl
Median home value
$204,900
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 2.6% over the past year, to 7,884 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$61,76358th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$46,20312th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,5092024 ACS 5-Year$63,087Bottom 45%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,1152024 ACS 5-Year$30,524Bottom 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$46,154Bottom 11%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.3%Bottom 29%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year35.1 minBottom 7%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year18.7%Bottom 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year76.7%44th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20267,884Bottom 7%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+5.0%Top 8%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+2.6%Top 8%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 20268,2677th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year70.0%Bottom 26%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%85th 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 ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.0%70th 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

202120222023202463k58k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $63,087 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.

39% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.9 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.9
across 5 of them
Math proficiency
39.3%
Bottom 13% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
51.0%
Bottom 21% in Kentucky
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Garrard County High SchoolGarrard County79214.932%42%
Garrard Middle SchoolGarrard County54313.237%53%
Lancaster Elementary SchoolGarrard County46213.642%47%
Camp Dick Robinson Elementary SchoolGarrard County44615.945%62%
Paint Lick Elementary SchoolGarrard County26010.852%62%
Garrard County Area Technology CenterKentucky Tech System0———

63.8% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky is up 51% over five years, and up 5.6% 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 $1,422 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.69% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $900, some 13% above the $794 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $900 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $36,000 a year, about 57% of the median household income here of $63,087.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $794 a month.

A median home at $204,900 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $71,293, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$900
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$794
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$204,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Garrard County’s median household income of $63,087, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+5.6%83rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+50.5%72nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+91.9%47th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.9Bottom 33%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year79.9%80th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±212024 ACS 5-Year7,28033rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$821Top 30%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,156Top 8%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$900Top 7%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$482024 ACS 5-Year$794Top 33%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,9122024 ACS 5-Year$204,90058th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$862024 ACS 5-Year$1,42243rd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,9972024 ACS 5-Year$71,293Bottom 38%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.69%40th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±11%2024 ACS 5-Year29.3%Bottom 34%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1202024 ACS 5-Year26643rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.7%58th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.4%10th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1722024 ACS 5-Year58516th 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.

Development Momentum

47/ 100
Ranks 789 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2022 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 6% since 2020, reaching 18,040 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 18,040 residents in 2024, up 0.8% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

Federal tax returns show Garrard County gained about 1.3% 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 $61,763, above the $46,203 of households that moved out.

At 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
0
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.0
Bottom 1% nationally
Year over year
—
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
—
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202418k17k
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 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
14%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$61,763
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$46,203
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Jessamine County, KY 218 people · 19% of arrivals
  2. Madison County, KY 174 people · 15% of arrivals
  3. Lincoln County, KY 146 people · 13% of arrivals
  4. Fayette County, KY 145 people · 12% of arrivals
  5. Boyle County, KY 115 people · 9.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Madison County, KY 146 people · 15% of departures
  2. Jessamine County, KY 126 people · 13% of departures
  3. Boyle County, KY 117 people · 12% of departures
  4. Lincoln County, KY 112 people · 11% of departures
  5. Fayette County, KY 103 people · 10% 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

20222023202420250.00.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey.

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, 28.6 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

55 / 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.

Strong windModerate
HailModerate
TornadoModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Cold waveModerate
Inland floodingModerate

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

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.

Garrard County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 14.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 56.1 per 100,000 residents in Garrard County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
56.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.6
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 Garrard 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.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. 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 Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl at 75 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.0%Top 49%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle75 miBottom 12%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.4%Bottom 49%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF75 mi11,887 ft
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky IntlCVG98 mi10,000 ft
Mc Ghee TysonTYS129 mi10,000 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
55
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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
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.

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.