Official Federal Data
Hancock County, Kentucky
Population 9,034
9 Sources
Updated September 10, 2026
$65,464 up from the baseline named below
Median Income (nominal) vs 2019
$80,734 national
4.8% down from the baseline named below
Unemployment vs 2024
4.3% national
$900M up from the baseline named below
GDP (nominal) real change vs 2023
17.3% up from the baseline named below
Bachelor's+ vs 2019
35.7% national
Small population: 9,034 residents. These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates, which carry a wide margin of error for places under 20,000 people. Read each value as an approximate range, and treat year-over-year changes as indicative rather than exact. A small shift can reflect survey sampling, not a real change on the ground.
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household (nominal)
$65,464 up from 2019 vs 2019
Per Capita
$31,584 up from 2019 vs 2019
Mean Household
$75,694 up from 2019 vs 2019
Median Household (cost-of-living adjusted)
$72,576 state RPP 90.2
Poverty Rate
16.2% up from 2019 vs 2019approx.
Median Income Comparison
Hancock County$65,464
Kentucky$63,726
National$80,734
Cost-of-living adjustment uses the BEA all-items regional price parity for Kentucky, 90.2 against a national average of 100 (2024). BEA publishes regional price parity at state and metropolitan level only; there is no county figure, so the state index stands in for Hancock County and the adjusted median is an approximation. Per capita and mean household income above are nominal and carry no adjustment.
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003
CohortsShare of total population
Under 18 · 23.9%
18-34 · 18.7%
35-54 · 25%
55-64 · 14%
65+ · 18.3%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
88.1%
High School+
National: 89.6%
down from national 1.5 pts vs national
17.3%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
down from national 18.4 pts vs national
5.8%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
down from national 8.3 pts vs national
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
9,034
Population
4,134
Labor Force
Employed
3,953
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.8% down from 2024 0.5 pts vs 2024
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
3.1%
Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Cost of living stretches income further: Local prices run 9.8% below the national average, so the nominal median of $65,464 is worth $72,576 at national average prices. BEA publishes price parity at state level, not county level.
- Elevated poverty: At 16.2%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 18.4 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
- Aging population: Median age of 42 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
$900M up from 2023 +2.5% vs 2023
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
+2.5% real (inflation-adjusted)
·
-4.2% nominal
· 2023 to 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · level and nominal change from CAGDP2 (current dollars); real change from CAGDP9 (chained 2017 dollars), both all-industry total. The two series agree in 2017, the chain reference year, and diverge by the amount of price change since.
90.2
Cost of Living · state · Below Avg
Key Takeaways
- Largest private-sector industry: Manufacturing employs 2,353 workers (84.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $99,703. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 424 and is counted separately.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $900M (2024).
- Wage stratification: Manufacturing averages $99,703 while Real Estate and Rental and Leasing averages $27,396, a 3.6x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
2 sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5
Largest grouping among them is Manufacturing Cluster at 84.3% of the employment across all of them, which signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
127
Employment in the sub-sectors listed
3.09x
Peak sub-sector LQ
Sub-Sector Detail
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
3.09x 107
Waste Management and Remediation Services
1.63x 20
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, screened against local siting constraints. Source: BLS QCEW
0.32x
Food Services and Drinking Places
93 employed
0.34x
Ambulatory Health Care Services
71 employed
0.45x
Social Assistance
51 employed
Screened on industrial power cost, rail-truck intermodal access, land base.
Industrial electricity in Kentucky costs 6.96¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025).
Kentucky has 4 rail-truck intermodal terminals, the nearest 61 miles from the county.
Land area 188 sq mi, larger than 6% of US counties.
Sources: EIA, BTS NTAD, Census Gazetteer.
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing concentrates at 3.09x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Attraction whitespace: 3 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064, B25004
$141,200 up from the baseline named below
Median Home Value vs 2019
$740 up from the baseline named below
Rent/Mo vs 2019
77.2% down from the baseline named below
Owner-Occ vs 2019
7.4% down from the baseline named below
Vacancy vs 2019
0.9% available
for rent or sale
for rent or sale
2.2x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
HUD publishes these by FMR area, which may cover more than one county · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070
Studio
$769/mo
1 Bedroom
$774/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,016/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,345/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,347/mo
30% of monthly median renter household income (~$935/mo, from a renter median of $37,383) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Measured: 29.7% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 19.7% pay 50% or more.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.2x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- High home ownership: 77.2% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $37,383 can pay without cost burden (~$935/mo), and 29.7% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23001, B23025, B08303, B08301
5,220 up from the baseline named below
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
3.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
78.6%
of prime-age population
Prime-age rate numerator is civilian employed (B23001); the denominator is total population aged 25-54 (B01001), which also includes armed forces.
of population age 16 and over (7,118)
unchanged from 2019 vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003
Bachelor's+
17.3% up from 2019 vs 2019
HS Diploma+
88.1% up from 2019 vs 2019
Institutions in Hancock County
The IPEDS institutional directory lists no college, university, or technical school located in Hancock County. Any training pipeline serving this county runs through institutions outside it, which this page does not aggregate.
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
24.3%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Same cohort is 14% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
24.5%
Service
17.8%
Sales & Office
20.1%
Construction / Maint.
15.6%
Production / Transport
22%
Bars are drawn on a 0% to 40% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 3,953 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Succession risk is real: 24.3% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
- Low participation: 58.1% labor force participation against a labor force that grew 4.8% between 2019 and 2024, so workforce development programs may unlock additional supply.
- Talent pipeline: no college, university, or technical school is located in Hancock County per the IPEDS institutional directory, so any training pipeline serving it runs through institutions outside the county.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 9 federal data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Hancock County shows meaningful potential for fabricated metal product manufacturing attraction, with a 3.09x concentration and 107 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 24.3% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2024 annual
BLS LAUS2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
BEA Regional Price Parity2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
American Community Survey figures on this page are 2020-2024 five-year averages rather than single-year counts. A five-year estimate pools 60 months of survey responses, so each value describes the period as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Hancock County, Kentucky, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Hancock County, Kentucky?
9,034 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Hancock County, Kentucky?
$65,464 in nominal dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates). Adjusted for local prices using the BEA all-items regional price parity for Kentucky (90.2 against a national average of 100), that is $72,576 at national average prices. BEA publishes regional price parity at state level; there is no county-level figure.
What is the unemployment rate in Hancock County, Kentucky?
4.8% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Hancock County, Kentucky?
$900M (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP2).
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