Pulaski County, KY

County Profile

65,897 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Pulaski 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.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 45% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity1,135th of 1,463 counties measured41
SchoolsTop 14% of 1,377 counties measured78
GrowthTop 17% of 1,453 counties measured68
Housing affordability781st of 1,462 counties measured73
ClimateTop 15% of 1,463 counties measured77
Physical resilienceTop 50% of 1,463 counties measured60
Access1,389th of 1,463 counties measured40
Economic stability1,321st of 1,463 counties measured24
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places Pulaski County in the bottom 22%.

Public schools test above most of the state: 57% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 14% of published profiles for schools.

Rent takes 30% of renter income here, at the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.6 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
65,897
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$51,898
Bottom 17% nationally
Density
100/sq mi
658.1 sq mi of land
Median age
42.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Pulaski County
Kentucky
Micro area
Nearest major airport
TYS
95 mi · Mc Ghee Tyson
Median home value
$166,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.3% — higher than in all but 15% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.5% over the past year, to 26,541 employed residents.

Median household income of $51,898 is lower than in 83% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$54,84639th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$44,6598th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,9712024 ACS 5-Year$51,898Bottom 17%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4862024 ACS 5-Year$29,394Bottom 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$49,513Bottom 22%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year20.2%Bottom 15%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.3 minTop 40%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year18.1%Bottom 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.7%66th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202626,541Bottom 42%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+6.0%Top 5%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.5%Top 28%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202628,03142nd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year67.0%Bottom 17%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%27th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.3%Bottom 15%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.7%32nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.83.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.3% 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

202120222023202452k43k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $51,898 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.

57% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 62% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.5 students for every full-time teacher across 17 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
19
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.5
across 17 of them
Math proficiency
57.2%
Top 8% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
61.8%
Top 16% in Kentucky
The 12 largest of 19 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Southwestern High SchoolPulaski County1,21316.646%44%
Pulaski County High SchoolPulaski County1,11315.240%49%
Southern Middle SchoolPulaski County87119.865%73%
Northern Middle SchoolPulaski County79717.356%69%
Hopkins Elementary SchoolSomerset Independent75016.757%60%
Southern Elementary SchoolPulaski County61113.372%70%
Oak Hill Elementary SchoolPulaski County55116.272%78%
Pulaski Elementary SchoolPulaski County53515.364%65%
Somerset High SchoolSomerset Independent52612.542%52%
Science Hill Elementary SchoolScience Hill Independent49816.157%70%
Meece Middle SchoolSomerset Independent48614.355%65%
Burnside Elementary SchoolPulaski County41412.951%64%

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 $1,057 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.63% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $926, some 15% above the $803 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $926 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $37,000 a year, about 71% of the median household income here of $51,898.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $803 a month.

A median home at $166,900 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $63,133, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
30.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$926
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$803
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$166,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Pulaski County’s median household income of $51,898, 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 ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 43%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year72.5%40th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±482024 ACS 5-Year31,72275th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$706Top 7%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,110Top 5%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$926Top 11%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$382024 ACS 5-Year$803Top 35%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,7802024 ACS 5-Year$166,90042nd percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$462024 ACS 5-Year$1,05726th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,0152024 ACS 5-Year$63,133Bottom 21%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.63%33rd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.0%Bottom 28%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4032024 ACS 5-Year2,61188th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year8.2%76th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%51st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5672024 ACS 5-Year5,51282nd 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

68/ 100
Top 17% of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of 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 3% since 2020, reaching 66,842 in 2024.

88% of the 112 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Pulaski County gained about 1.1% 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 $54,846, above the $44,659 of households that moved out.

At 1.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
112
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.7
Bottom 31% nationally
Year over year
+44%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
87.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202467k65k
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
+1.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
45%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$54,846
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$44,659
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Wayne County, KY 170 people · 6.7% of arrivals
  2. Fayette County, KY 99 people · 3.9% of arrivals
  3. Laurel County, KY 98 people · 3.9% of arrivals
  4. McCreary County, KY 86 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  5. Rockcastle County, KY 78 people · 3.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Wayne County, KY 168 people · 8.4% of departures
  2. Lincoln County, KY 106 people · 5.3% of departures
  3. McCreary County, KY 102 people · 5.1% of departures
  4. Madison County, KY 100 people · 5.0% of departures
  5. Fayette County, KY 93 people · 4.6% 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

20222023202420251309.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+665%).

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 29°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 53.3 inches, including 5.4 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SOMERSET 2 N, 2.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year542024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals53.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals5.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals29°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year412024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals41°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
54
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

60 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 53% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Winter weatherModerate
HailModerate
EarthquakeElevated
TornadoElevated
Inland floodingModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, strong wind, heat wave, landslide, wildfire, ice storm, hurricane, drought, 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.

Pulaski County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.0 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 15.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 19.6 per 100,000 residents in Pulaski County.

Homicide
4.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
19.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.1
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 Pulaski 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.
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 Mc Ghee Tyson at 95 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year85.1%Bottom 37%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle95 miBottom 4%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-Year11.3%Bottom 41%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mc Ghee TysonTYS95 mi10,000 ft
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF97 mi11,887 ft
Tri-CitiesTRI128 mi8,000 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
61
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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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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 Pulaski 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.