Simpson County, KY

County Profile

19,972 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Simpson 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.

57out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 41% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity1,411th of 1,463 counties measured21
SchoolsTop 46% of 1,377 counties measured53
GrowthTop 24% of 1,453 counties measured65
Housing affordabilityTop 30% of 1,462 counties measured78
ClimateTop 26% of 1,463 counties measured74
Physical resilienceTop 39% of 1,463 counties measured67
Access882nd of 1,463 counties measured76
Economic stability1,010th of 1,463 counties measured45
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places Simpson County in the bottom 4%.

In the public schools here, 49% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.7 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 300 units authorized over the past twelve months, 15% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
19,972
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,858
Bottom 35% nationally
Density
85/sq mi
234.2 sq mi of land
Median age
38.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Simpson County
Kentucky
Micro area
Nearest major airport
BNA
43 mi · Nashville Intl
Median home value
$229,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

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

Employment fell 3.5% over the past year, to 8,162 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$47,54615th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$45,57010th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,2212024 ACS 5-Year$59,858Bottom 35%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2162024 ACS 5-Year$31,249Bottom 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$46,542Bottom 12%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.0%Bottom 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.5 minTop 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year18.8%Bottom 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.2%62nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20268,162Bottom 7%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.3%Bottom 23%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−3.5%Bottom 7%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 20268,6207th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year73.3%Bottom 39%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%56th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 36%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.3%Bottom 15%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%20th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.53.0
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

202120222023202460k53k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,858 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.

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 53% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.7 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
48.6%
Top 32% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
53.1%
Bottom 45% in Kentucky
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Franklin-Simpson High SchoolSimpson County83014.146%52%
Simpson Elementary SchoolSimpson County73116.258%54%
Franklin-Simpson Middle SchoolSimpson County66218.453%61%
Lincoln Elementary SchoolSimpson County46314.538%49%
Franklin Elementary SchoolSimpson County32416.2——
Franklin-Simpson High School West CampusSimpson County7017.510%10%

64.7% 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.

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 $1,371 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.60% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,055, close to the $1,012 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,055 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $42,200 a year, about 71% of the median household income here of $59,858.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,012 a month.

A median home at $229,400 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $73,561, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
27.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,055
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,012
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$229,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Simpson County’s median household income of $59,858, 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-Year3.1Bottom 26%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year66.7%19th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±252024 ACS 5-Year8,62738th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$872Top 38%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,405Top 39%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,055Top 34%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$692024 ACS 5-Year$1,012Bottom 30%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$21,7132024 ACS 5-Year$229,40066th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1022024 ACS 5-Year$1,37140th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,2782024 ACS 5-Year$73,561Bottom 43%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.60%28th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year27.1%Top 43%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±762024 ACS 5-Year7014th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%21st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.2%26th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2072024 ACS 5-Year60217th 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

65/ 100
Top 24% of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of 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 4% since 2020, reaching 20,350 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 20,350 residents in 2024, up 0.6% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

Federal tax returns show Simpson County gained about 2.0% 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 $47,546, close to the $45,570 of households that moved out.

At 15.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
300
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
15.0
Top 2% nationally
Year over year
−15%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
23.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202420k20k
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
+2.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
59%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$47,546
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$45,570
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Sumner County, TN 298 people · 22% of arrivals
  2. Warren County, KY 284 people · 21% of arrivals
  3. Logan County, KY 95 people · 6.9% of arrivals
  4. Robertson County, TN 79 people · 5.8% of arrivals
  5. Davidson County, TN 66 people · 4.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Warren County, KY 303 people · 28% of departures
  2. Sumner County, TN 118 people · 11% of departures
  3. Allen County, KY 75 people · 7.0% of departures
  4. Logan County, KY 74 people · 7.0% of departures
  5. Robertson County, TN 54 people · 5.1% 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

202020212022202320242025396129
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+139%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 50.1 inches, including 8.5 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, 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 BOWLING GREEN WARREN CO AP, 17.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals50.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals8.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
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

67 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 32% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

HailHigh
EarthquakeHigh
Ice stormModerate
Strong windModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, lightning, drought, cold wave, heat wave, winter weather, hurricane, inland flooding, landslide, 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.

Simpson 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.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 14.0 per 100,000 residents in Simpson County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
14.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents

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 Simpson 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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Nashville Intl at 43 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year88.7%Top 36%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle43 miBottom 39%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%Top 33%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Nashville IntlBNA43 mi11,030 ft
SmyrnaMQY51 mi8,038 ft
Owensboro/Daviess County RgnlOWB76 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
57
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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 Simpson 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.