County profile

Spencer 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
20,193
Median household income
$102,618
People below poverty
9.8%
Median home value
$330,000

Income

The median income of households in Spencer County, Kentucky was $102,618. An estimated 4.1% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 12.2% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Spencer County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 4.1
$10,000 to $14,999 1.8
$15,000 to $24,999 3.8
$25,000 to $34,999 5.5
$35,000 to $49,999 6.9
$50,000 to $74,999 14.8
$75,000 to $99,999 12.7
$100,000 to $149,999 23.9
$150,000 to $199,999 14.4
$200,000 or more 12.2

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

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Dollars
Male 71646
Female 54275

An estimated 77.5% of households received earnings. An estimated 32.9% of households received Social Security and an estimated 28.4 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $27,080. 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 Spencer County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 77.5
Social Security 32.9
Retirement income 28.4
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 5.4
Cash public assistance income 2.5

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 9.8 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 14% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 3.2% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 9.9% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Spencer County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 9.8
Children under 18 years below poverty 14
People 65 years old and over below poverty 3.2
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 9.9

In 2020-2024, 6.6 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 72.3% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 27.7% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 40.7% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Spencer County, Kentucky in 2020-2024, 96.1% had health insurance coverage and 3.9% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 75.7% and public coverage was 33.8%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 1.8%.


In 2020-2024, Spencer County, Kentucky had a total population of 20,193 - 9,952 (49.3%) females and 10,241 (50.7%) males. The median age was 42.9 years. An estimated 22.5% of the population was under 18 years, 29.4% was 19 to 44 years, 30.4% was 45 to 64 years, and 15.5 % was 65 years and older.

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

Male Female
Under 5 547 513
5 to 9 767 416
10 to 14 638 843
15 to 19 695 590
20 to 24 509 511
25 to 29 479 447
30 to 34 551 568
35 to 39 560 700
40 to 44 820 780
45 to 49 706 656
50 to 54 790 737
55 to 59 740 907
60 to 64 887 708
65 to 69 710 574
70 to 74 340 449
75 to 79 248 299
80 to 84 158 157
85 and over 96 97

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 93.3% were White; 0.8% were Black or African American; 17.4% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.5% were Asian; 0.5% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 4.7% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 2.7% of the people in Spencer County, Kentucky were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 92.5% of the people in Spencer County, Kentucky were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 7,308 households in Spencer County, Kentucky. The average household size was 2.75 people.

Married-couple households made up 64% of the households in Spencer County, Kentucky while cohabiting couple households made up 8.5% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 13.9% of all households, while 13.7% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 10.5% of households were male householders living alone, and 5.6% were female householders living alone, for a total of 16.1% of all households.

In Spencer County, Kentucky, 37% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 28.2% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

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

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Percent
Married-couple households 64
Cohabiting Couples 8.5
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
13.7
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
13.9

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 59% of males and 60.2% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 26.8 21.4
Now married, except separated 59 60.2
Separated 0.5 1.5
Widowed 2.7 6.6
Divorced 11 10.4

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Spencer County, Kentucky, 818 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 39.4% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 99.3% of the people living in Spencer County, Kentucky were U.S. natives. 75.7% of the Spencer County, Kentucky population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 0.7% of Spencer County, Kentucky residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 49% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 39.2 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Spencer 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 Spencer County, Kentucky.

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

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Percent
Latin America 16.1
Asia 81.8
Europe 2.1
Africa 0
Northern America 0
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Spencer County, Kentucky in 2020-2024, 1.6 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 0.7% of people at least five years old; 0.4% 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 Spencer County, Kentucky in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 0.7
Other Indo-European languages 0.6
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.3
Other languages 0

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 91.6 % of the people at least one year old living in Spencer County, Kentucky were living in the same house one year earlier.

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

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Percent
Same house 91.6
Different house, same county 1.9
Different county, same state 5.2
Different state 1.2
Abroad 0.1

Education

In 2020-2024, 93 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 23.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 7% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Spencer County, Kentucky was 4,177 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 285 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 3,320. College or graduate school enrollment was 572.

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

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 7
High school diploma or equivalency 36
Some college, no degree 22.5
Associate's degree 10.8
Bachelor's degree 15
Graduate or professional degree 8.6

Disability

In Spencer County, Kentucky, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 13.8 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 7.8% of people under 18 years old, to 13.6% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 23.9% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Spencer County, Kentucky, 60.5 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 36.3% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 81.5% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 12.9% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 5.3 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 7,990 81.5
Federal, state, or local government workers 1,266 12.9
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 517 5.3

Industries

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

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

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 1.4
Construction 8.9
Manufacturing 18.3
Wholesale trade 1.8
Retail trade 9
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 9.1
Information 0.5
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 6.4
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 9.1
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 22.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 6.2
Other Services, except public administration 4.1
Public administration 2.3

Occupations

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

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 3,452 35.2
Service occupations 1,352 13.8
Sales and office occupations 2,079 21.2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 1,160 11.8
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 1,760 18

Commuting to Work

An estimated 79.8% of Spencer County, Kentucky workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 4.9% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 32.7 minutes to get to work.

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

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 79.8
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 4.9
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.2
Walked 0.8
Other means 1.1
Worked from home 13.3

In 2020-2024, Spencer County, Kentucky had a total of 7,712 housing units. Of these housing units, 90.6% 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"). 4.3% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 5.1% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

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

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Percent
Single-family houses 90.6
Apartments in multi-unit structures 4.3
Mobile homes 5.1
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

16.6% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 7.2% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Spencer County, Kentucky was 6.4 rooms, and of these housing units 87.3% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Spencer County, Kentucky had 7,308 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 404 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 87.9% while renters occupied 12.1%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.77 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.59.

2.8% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 6.5% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 3% and another 41.8% had three or more vehicles available for use.

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

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

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Percent
Gas 27.9
Electricity 67.2
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.5
All other fuels 3
No fuel used 1.4

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Spencer County, Kentucky was $330,000.

Of the owner-occupied households, 73.4 % had a mortgage. 26.6% 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 $1,795 and for owners without a mortgage it was $532.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Spencer County, Kentucky was $987. 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.