Boyd County, Kentucky Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Boyd County, Kentucky, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Boyd County, Kentucky. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Boyd County, Kentucky. The estimated population of Boyd County, Kentucky is 48,447 people, with a median age of 41.9.

We can look at the total population in Boyd County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
48,447
+2.29%
-0.08%
2020
47,361
 -0.67% -
2019
47,682
 -0.85% -
2018
48,091
 -0.81% -
2017
48,486
 - -

Population of Boyd County, Kentucky by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
92.5%
93.3%
 -0.86%
Black/African American
1.9%
2.4%
 -20.83%
Native
0%
0.1%
 -100.00%
Hispanic
1.9%
1.7%
 +11.76%
Asian
0.4%
0.3%
 +33.33%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
3.2%
2.2%
 +45.45%
Other
0.1%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Boyd County, Kentucky by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 41.9 -0.48% 40.4 +0.5% 44.2 -1.12%
2020 42.1 -0.47% 40.2 -0.99% 44.7 +0.45%
2019 42.3 +0.95% 40.6 +0.25% 44.5 +0.68%
2018 41.9 0% 40.5 0% 44.2 +0.68%
2017 41.9 - 40.5 - 43.9 -

The median age of Boyd County, Kentucky gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 3,164 -1.94% 2,982 -1.84% 3,101 2,918
10 to 19 2,692 +4.72% 2,531 +2.65% 2,812 2,596
20 to 29 2,737 +0.6% 2,569 -6.2% 2,752 2,413
30 to 39 3,292 +0.13% 3,080 -1.37% 3,294 3,036
40 to 49 3,297 -5.26% 2,904 -3.48% 3,114 2,800
50 to 59 3,337 +7.89% 3,300 -2.83% 3,606 3,204
60 to 69 3,131 -1.38% 3,313 +9.44% 3,082 3,634
70+ 2,530 +0.95% 3,627 -2.36% 2,550 3,535

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Boyd County, Kentucky is $53,077.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Boyd County.

  • Under 25
    $42,478.00
  • 25 to 44
    $57,635.00
  • 45 to 64
    $60,500.00
  • 65 and over
    $42,937.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Boyd County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Boyd County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Boyd County, Kentucky is currently $68,567.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

3.59% of households in Boyd County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Boyd County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    24.38%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    22.36%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    18.97%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    13.27%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    14.58%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2.85%
  • $200,000 or more
    3.59%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Boyd County is $27,596.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Boyd County by the total population of Boyd County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Boyd County, Kentucky, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Boyd County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    11.36%
  • Bachelor's degree
    20.63%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    16.65%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    46.86%
  • Less than high school diploma
    4.50%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Boyd County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Boyd County over the age of 16 is 38,968.

Of those people, a total of 52.30% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Boyd County is 47.80%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 1,948 31.80% 17.90%
20 to 24 years 2,426 70.40% 13.00%
25 to 29 years 2,739 83.70% 8.40%
30 to 34 years 2,900 76.70% 16.80%
35 to 44 years 6,210 69.10% 10.10%
45 to 54 years 6,458 70.50% 6.80%
55 to 59 years 3,486 53.40% 1.10%
60 to 64 years 3,374 36.40% 2.90%
65 to 74 years 5,603 25.30% 2.60%
75 years and over 3,824 4.70% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Boyd County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 36,547 52.20% 8.40%
Black or African American 847 32.70% 12.30%
American Indian and Alaska Native 9 77.80% 0.00%
Asian 146 26.70% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 14 0.00% 0.00%
Other 453 90.90% 0.00%
Two or more races 952 59.20% 17.60%
Hispanic or Latino 653 83.00% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 36,344 52.10% 8.50%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Boyd County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Boyd County is 18,640, with median earnings of $33,866.00.

Women in Boyd County, Kentucky earning approximately 75.90% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 18,640 $33,866.00
Male 9,741 $40,292.00
Female 8,899 $30,578.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,790 $50,630.00
Business and Financial 750 $59,020.00
Computer and Mathematical 141 $35,121.00
Architecture and Engineering 181 $87,583.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 102 $64,545.00
Community and Social Service 646 $36,280.00
Legal 161 $44,375.00
Educational and Library 1,187 $39,304.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 251 $32,511.00
Healthcare Practitioners 2,136 $56,187.00
Healthcare Support 498 $23,924.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 213 $30,817.00
Law Enforcement 125 $55,523.00
Food Preparation and Serving 925 $15,502.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 684 $25,536.00
Personal Care and Service 218 $11,779.00
Sales 2,213 $22,702.00
Office and Administrative Support 2,267 $29,361.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 49 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 805 $44,640.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 817 $38,594.00
Production 1,095 $46,193.00
Transportation and Material Moving 638 $31,935.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 1,146 $63,214.00 644 $35,938.00
Business and Financial 346 $86,042.00 404 $56,141.00
Computer and Mathematical 137 $34,971.00 4 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 160 $88,667.00 21 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 66 $95,417.00 36 $64,091.00
Community and Social Service 241 $40,881.00 405 $35,625.00
Legal 92 $33,026.00 69 $71,483.00
Educational and Library 349 $42,092.00 838 $37,803.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 179 $32,966.00 72 $9,375.00
Healthcare Practitioners 619 $80,467.00 1,517 $50,590.00
Healthcare Support 59 $24,188.00 439 $23,835.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 132 $57,750.00 81 $17,301.00
Law Enforcement 114 $55,773.00 11 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 445 $15,033.00 480 $20,179.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 536 $26,488.00 148 $19,464.00
Personal Care and Service 66 $25,109.00 152 $10,244.00
Sales 1,023 $28,320.00 1,190 $14,750.00
Office and Administrative Support 503 $27,371.00 1,764 $29,673.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 39 $0.00 10 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 767 $49,688.00 38 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 802 $39,063.00 15 $0.00
Production 750 $57,031.00 345 $29,785.00
Transportation and Material Moving 561 $33,313.00 77 $16,853.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 18,281 households in Boyd County, with an average household size of 2.56 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 12,006 families in Boyd County with an average family size of 3.19 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 8,494 913 2,599 6,275
Average Household Size 3.22 3.7 3.29 1.2
Total Families 8,494 913 2,599 0
Average Household Size 3.19 3.49 3.07 0

Poverty

Of the 12,006 families in Boyd County, 12.90% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Boyd County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 21,746 housing units in Boyd County, Kentucky.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 18,281 84.07%
Vacant 3,465 15.93%

25.25% of the total 21,746 housing units in Boyd County are rental units. This is approximately 5,490 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 12,343 are occupied by the owner - or 56.76% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Boyd County is $733.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Boyd County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    448
  • Less than $500
    1,315
  • $500 to $999
    3,209
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    860
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    93
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    13
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Boyd County is $112,000.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Boyd County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    1,564
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    3,904
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    2,526
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2,417
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,077
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    622
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    221
  • $1,000,000 or more
    12

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Boyd County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Boyd County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    2,666
  • 1940 to 1949
    1,435
  • 1950 to 1959
    2,802
  • 1960 to 1969
    3,698
  • 1970 to 1979
    4,500
  • 1980 to 1989
    2,306
  • 1990 to 1999
    2,373
  • 2000 to 2009
    1,541
  • 2010 to 2013
    425
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Boyd County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    1,534
  • 1 vehicle available
    5,741
  • 2 vehicles available
    7,014
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    3,992

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Boyd County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Boyd County that commute to work in a particular way.

22.9 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Boyd County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    467
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    2,252
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    3,244
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    3,802
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    2,595
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    1,051
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    1,788
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    272
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    469
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    700
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    568
  • 90 or more minutes
    478

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Boyd County, Kentucky in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Boyd County, Kentucky

We have data for 8 places in Boyd County, Kentucky. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.