Somerset, KY

Micro Area Profile

65,897 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Somerset, KY micropolitan area.

59out of 100
Area Score
Top 42% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity612th of 835 metro and micro areas measured39
SchoolsTop 10% of 695 metro and micro areas measured82
GrowthTop 25% of 834 metro and micro areas measured65
Housing affordability463rd of 835 metro and micro areas measured73
ClimateTop 12% of 835 metro and micro areas measured77
Physical resilienceTop 49% of 835 metro and micro areas measured56
Access781st of 835 metro and micro areas measured40
Economic stability762nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured15
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places Somerset in the bottom 27%.

Public schools test above most of the state: 57% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 10% 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 9% nationally
Density
100/sq mi
658.1 sq mi of land
Median age
42.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Kentucky
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 18% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

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

Median household income of $51,898 is lower than in 91% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,9712024 ACS 5-Year$51,898Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4862024 ACS 5-Year$29,394Bottom 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year20.2%Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.3 minBottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year18.1%Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.7%70th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202626,541Bottom 37%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+6.0%Top 4%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.5%Top 24%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202628,03138th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year67.0%Bottom 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%8th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 44%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.3%Bottom 18%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.7%29th percentileof 9352024 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.

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 7% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
61.8%
Top 7% 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.

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 Somerset’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 to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year72.5%67th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±482024 ACS 5-Year31,72245th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$706Top 7%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,110Top 3%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$926Top 12%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$382024 ACS 5-Year$803Top 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,7802024 ACS 5-Year$166,90027th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$462024 ACS 5-Year$1,05716th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,0152024 ACS 5-Year$63,133Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.63%29th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.0%Bottom 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4032024 ACS 5-Year2,61172nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year8.2%83rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%65th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5672024 ACS 5-Year5,51256th percentileof 9352024 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 25% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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.

At 1.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
112
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.7
Bottom 33% 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.

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.

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
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
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals41°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

56 / 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). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle95 miBottom 5%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year11.3%Bottom 22%of 9352024 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
59
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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)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
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.

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