County profile

Rockcastle 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
16,163
Median household income
$48,862
People below poverty
25.6%
Median home value
$123,600

Income

The median income of households in Rockcastle County, Kentucky was $48,862. An estimated 9.7% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 3.6% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Rockcastle County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 9.7
$10,000 to $14,999 7.3
$15,000 to $24,999 12.9
$25,000 to $34,999 7.8
$35,000 to $49,999 13.2
$50,000 to $74,999 16.9
$75,000 to $99,999 13.6
$100,000 to $149,999 12.7
$150,000 to $199,999 2.4
$200,000 or more 3.6

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

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Dollars
Male 55976
Female 37619

An estimated 63.9% of households received earnings. An estimated 40.4% of households received Social Security and an estimated 23.6 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $18,590. 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 Rockcastle County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 63.9
Social Security 40.4
Retirement income 23.6
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 13
Cash public assistance income 2.9

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 25.6 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 36% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 24.7% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 22.3% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Rockcastle County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 25.6
Children under 18 years below poverty 36
People 65 years old and over below poverty 24.7
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 22.3

In 2020-2024, 21.9 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 40.1% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 48.5% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 20.4% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Rockcastle County, Kentucky in 2020-2024, 93.2% had health insurance coverage and 6.8% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 54.2% and public coverage was 54.2%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 7.6%.


In 2020-2024, Rockcastle County, Kentucky had a total population of 16,163 - 8,169 (50.5%) females and 7,994 (49.5%) males. The median age was 42.8 years. An estimated 21.5% of the population was under 18 years, 28.7% was 19 to 44 years, 28.6% was 45 to 64 years, and 19.3 % was 65 years and older.

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

Male Female
Under 5 460 403
5 to 9 334 493
10 to 14 630 457
15 to 19 498 504
20 to 24 459 418
25 to 29 458 442
30 to 34 506 484
35 to 39 408 506
40 to 44 489 477
45 to 49 491 538
50 to 54 602 576
55 to 59 500 585
60 to 64 723 606
65 to 69 523 506
70 to 74 370 441
75 to 79 383 364
80 to 84 80 172
85 and over 80 197

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 95.7% were White; 0.6% were Black or African American; 22.8% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.1% were Asian; 0.5% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 2.4% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 1.3% of the people in Rockcastle County, Kentucky were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 95.3% of the people in Rockcastle County, Kentucky were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 6,534 households in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. The average household size was 2.42 people.

Married-couple households made up 51.2% of the households in Rockcastle County, Kentucky while cohabiting couple households made up 3.7% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 25.5% of all households, while 19.6% 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 15.7% were female householders living alone, for a total of 30.1% of all households.

In Rockcastle County, Kentucky, 31.9% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 35% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

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

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Percent
Married-couple households 51.2
Cohabiting Couples 3.7
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
19.6
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
25.5

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 55.5% of males and 49.3% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 25.6 20.2
Now married, except separated 55.5 49.3
Separated 1.3 2.9
Widowed 3.7 14.6
Divorced 13.9 12.9

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Rockcastle County, Kentucky, 712 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 76.4% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 99.6% of the people living in Rockcastle County, Kentucky were U.S. natives. 82% of the Rockcastle County, Kentucky population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 0.4% of Rockcastle County, Kentucky residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 66.7% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 86.7 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Rockcastle 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 Rockcastle County, Kentucky.

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

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Percent
Latin America 78.3
Asia 21.7
Europe 0
Africa 0
Northern America 0
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Rockcastle County, Kentucky in 2020-2024, 1.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 0.9% of people at least five years old; 0.5% 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 Rockcastle County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 0.9
Other Indo-European languages 0.3
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0
Other languages 0

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 89.5 % of the people at least one year old living in Rockcastle County, Kentucky were living in the same house one year earlier.

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

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Percent
Same house 89.5
Different house, same county 4.8
Different county, same state 4.7
Different state 1
Abroad 0

Education

In 2020-2024, 83.4 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 13.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 16.7% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Rockcastle County, Kentucky was 3,326 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 205 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 2,443. College or graduate school enrollment was 678.

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

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 16.7
High school diploma or equivalency 45.6
Some college, no degree 18.6
Associate's degree 5.4
Bachelor's degree 6
Graduate or professional degree 7.7

Disability

In Rockcastle County, Kentucky, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 23.1 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 8.9% of people under 18 years old, to 22.1% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 42.8% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Rockcastle County, Kentucky, 46.4 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 51.4% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 73.1% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 19.4% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 7.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 4,452 73.1
Federal, state, or local government workers 1,180 19.4
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 453 7.4

Industries

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

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

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 2.2
Construction 7.5
Manufacturing 18.2
Wholesale trade 0.3
Retail trade 14.1
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 6.3
Information 0.5
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 3.3
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 6.3
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 28.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 4.5
Other Services, except public administration 3.9
Public administration 4.2

Occupations

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

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 1,850 30.4
Service occupations 987 16.2
Sales and office occupations 1,160 19
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 632 10.4
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 1,464 24

Commuting to Work

An estimated 78.3% of Rockcastle County, Kentucky workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 8.6% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 26.4 minutes to get to work.

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

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 78.3
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 8.6
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.2
Walked 1.4
Other means 1.2
Worked from home 10.4

In 2020-2024, Rockcastle County, Kentucky had a total of 7,391 housing units. Of these housing units, 66.5% 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"). 8.3% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 25.3% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

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

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Percent
Single-family houses 66.5
Apartments in multi-unit structures 8.3
Mobile homes 25.3
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

12.2% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 5.7% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Rockcastle County, Kentucky was 5.7 rooms, and of these housing units 72.1% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Rockcastle County, Kentucky had 6,534 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 857 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 74.3% while renters occupied 25.7%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.51 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.17.

2.5% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 14% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 9.3% and another 31.8% had three or more vehicles available for use.

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

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

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Percent
Gas 10.3
Electricity 77.3
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 2.3
All other fuels 10.2
No fuel used 0.1

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Rockcastle County, Kentucky was $123,600.

Of the owner-occupied households, 37 % had a mortgage. 63% 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 $1,015 and for owners without a mortgage it was $339.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Rockcastle County, Kentucky was $676. 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.