County profile

Pulaski County

Kentucky · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
65,897
Median household income
$51,898
People below poverty
19.7%
Median home value
$166,900

Income

The median income of households in Pulaski County, Kentucky was $51,898. An estimated 6.6% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 4% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 6.6
$10,000 to $14,999 7.6
$15,000 to $24,999 10.1
$25,000 to $34,999 11.3
$35,000 to $49,999 12.2
$50,000 to $74,999 18.6
$75,000 to $99,999 11.7
$100,000 to $149,999 13
$150,000 to $199,999 5.1
$200,000 or more 4

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 48953
Female 40756

An estimated 67.1% of households received earnings. An estimated 42.2% of households received Social Security and an estimated 28.1 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $19,692. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 67.1
Social Security 42.2
Retirement income 28.1
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 10.3
Cash public assistance income 2.2

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 19.7 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 23.1% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 20.4% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 18.2% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 19.7
Children under 18 years below poverty 23.1
People 65 years old and over below poverty 20.4
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 18.2

In 2020-2024, 15.2 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 45.4% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 40.8% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 34.2% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024, 93.9% had health insurance coverage and 6.1% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 54.1% and public coverage was 55.3%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 2.2%.


In 2020-2024, Pulaski County, Kentucky had a total population of 65,897 - 33,387 (50.7%) females and 32,510 (49.3%) males. The median age was 42.3 years. An estimated 22.2% of the population was under 18 years, 29.5% was 19 to 44 years, 26.9% was 45 to 64 years, and 19.5 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 1955 1711
5 to 9 1843 1953
10 to 14 2455 2017
15 to 19 2034 1935
20 to 24 1765 1659
25 to 29 1952 1844
30 to 34 1974 2088
35 to 39 2083 1869
40 to 44 1983 2248
45 to 49 2005 2005
50 to 54 2142 2192
55 to 59 2014 2599
60 to 64 2475 2272
65 to 69 1939 2000
70 to 74 1705 2017
75 to 79 932 1142
80 to 84 708 735
85 and over 546 1101

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 93.7% were White; 0.8% were Black or African American; 24% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.8% were Asian; 0.2% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 3.8% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 3.1% of the people in Pulaski County, Kentucky were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 92.3% of the people in Pulaski County, Kentucky were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 26,210 households in Pulaski County, Kentucky. The average household size was 2.47 people.

Married-couple households made up 47.5% of the households in Pulaski County, Kentucky while cohabiting couple households made up 5.4% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 27.3% of all households, while 19.8% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 14.4% of households were male householders living alone, and 14.6% were female householders living alone, for a total of 29% of all households.

In Pulaski County, Kentucky, 30.2% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 35.4% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 47.5
Cohabiting Couples 5.4
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
19.8
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
27.3

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 50.3% of males and 48.1% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 29.7 20.1
Now married, except separated 50.3 48.1
Separated 1 2.5
Widowed 4.6 12.8
Divorced 14.4 16.5

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Pulaski County, Kentucky, 1,682 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 44% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 98.1% of the people living in Pulaski County, Kentucky were U.S. natives. 73.3% of the Pulaski County, Kentucky population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 1.9% of Pulaski County, Kentucky residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 55.7% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 67.4 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Pulaski County, Kentucky come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Pulaski County, Kentucky.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 54.5
Asia 25.8
Europe 16.7
Africa 1
Northern America 2.1
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024, 2.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 1.2% of people at least five years old; 1.3% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 1.2
Other Indo-European languages 0.5
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.5
Other languages 0

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 89.8 % of the people at least one year old living in Pulaski County, Kentucky were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 89.8
Different house, same county 6.7
Different county, same state 2.5
Different state 0.9
Abroad 0.1

Education

In 2020-2024, 86.3 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 18.1% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 13.7% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Pulaski County, Kentucky was 13,676 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 755 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 10,388. College or graduate school enrollment was 2,533.

Educational Attainment of People in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 13.7
High school diploma or equivalency 37.5
Some college, no degree 21
Associate's degree 9.7
Bachelor's degree 10.2
Graduate or professional degree 7.9

Disability

In Pulaski County, Kentucky, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 23.2 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 5.3% of people under 18 years old, to 22.2% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 47.6% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Pulaski County, Kentucky, 49.8 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 47.6% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 77.1% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 15.9% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 6.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 20,390 77.1
Federal, state, or local government workers 4,216 15.9
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 1,682 6.4

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Pulaski County, Kentucky worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 2.5
Construction 5.6
Manufacturing 15.2
Wholesale trade 1.7
Retail trade 13.1
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 6.2
Information 1.3
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 4.1
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 7.5
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 25.1
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 7.4
Other Services, except public administration 6.2
Public administration 4.1

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 8,119 30.7
Service occupations 4,623 17.5
Sales and office occupations 6,404 24.2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 2,576 9.7
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 4,713 17.8

Commuting to Work

An estimated 79.7% of Pulaski County, Kentucky workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 11.8% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 23.3 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 79.7
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 11.8
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0
Walked 0.8
Other means 1.1
Worked from home 6.7

In 2020-2024, Pulaski County, Kentucky had a total of 31,722 housing units. Of these housing units, 70.5% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 12.1% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 17.3% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 70.5
Apartments in multi-unit structures 12.1
Mobile homes 17.3
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.1

11% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 6% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Pulaski County, Kentucky was 5.7 rooms, and of these housing units 70.3% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Pulaski County, Kentucky had 26,210 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 5,512 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 72.5% while renters occupied 27.5%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.48 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.45.

3.8% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 10.6% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 5.1% and another 26.7% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Pulaski County, Kentucky:

House Heating Fuel Used in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 13.4
Electricity 82.1
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 1.2
All other fuels 2.5
No fuel used 0.8

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Pulaski County, Kentucky was $166,900.

Of the owner-occupied households, 49.9 % had a mortgage. 50.1% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,211 and for owners without a mortgage it was $392.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Pulaski County, Kentucky was $803. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.