Marion County, Kentucky Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Marion 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 Marion County, Kentucky. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Marion County, Kentucky. The estimated population of Marion County, Kentucky is 19,556 people, with a median age of 39.8.

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

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
19,556
+1.55%
+1.14%
2020
19,257
+0.07%
-
2019
19,244
+0.06%
-
2018
19,232
 -0.53% -
2017
19,335
 - -

Population of Marion 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
87.6%
87.7%
 -0.11%
Black/African American
6.9%
8.5%
 -18.82%
Native
0.1%
0%
 0.00%
Hispanic
2.8%
2.5%
 +12.00%
Asian
0.7%
0.3%
 +133.33%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.2%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
1.7%
0.9%
 +88.89%
Other
0.1%
0.1%
 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 Marion 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 39.8 -0.5% 38.4 +1.32% 41.9 -2.33%
2020 40 +1.78% 37.9 -0.26% 42.9 +3.62%
2019 39.3 -1.01% 38 -2.81% 41.4 +2.48%
2018 39.7 0% 39.1 +1.56% 40.4 -1.46%
2017 39.7 - 38.5 - 41 -

The median age of Marion 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 1,404 -12.89% 1,287 -11.53% 1,228 1,143
10 to 19 1,347 +8.91% 1,088 +18.35% 1,463 1,289
20 to 29 1,164 +7.22% 973 +20.32% 1,241 1,183
30 to 39 1,175 +7.15% 1,312 -22.13% 1,252 1,031
40 to 49 1,472 -27.43% 1,214 -0.31% 1,096 1,200
50 to 59 1,371 +18.85% 1,416 -9.42% 1,647 1,280
60 to 69 1,140 -4.28% 957 +23.41% 1,090 1,197
70+ 726 +20.94% 1,289 +3.62% 886 1,330

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Marion County, Kentucky is $48,791.00.

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 Marion County.

  • Under 25
    $0.00
  • 25 to 44
    $57,353.00
  • 45 to 64
    $58,033.00
  • 65 and over
    $39,769.00

Average Household Income

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

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Marion 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 Marion County, Kentucky is currently $60,075.00.

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.

1.50% of households in Marion 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 Marion County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    25.17%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    25.61%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    17.50%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    14.93%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    11.78%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    3.50%
  • $200,000 or more
    1.50%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Marion County is $23,986.00.

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

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Marion 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 Marion 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
    8.68%
  • Bachelor's degree
    13.15%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    11.95%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    63.78%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.43%

Employment

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

The total population of Marion County over the age of 16 is 15,414.

Of those people, a total of 54.30% 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 Marion County is 51.20%.

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 981 45.10% 29.20%
20 to 24 years 1,124 76.50% 8.00%
25 to 29 years 1,300 73.40% 4.10%
30 to 34 years 1,081 60.40% 5.80%
35 to 44 years 2,326 69.10% 1.10%
45 to 54 years 2,571 67.90% 7.70%
55 to 59 years 1,528 65.40% 3.10%
60 to 64 years 1,288 50.10% 2.20%
65 to 74 years 1,939 17.00% 0.00%
75 years and over 1,276 10.10% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Marion 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 13,840 54.50% 4.80%
Black or African American 1,129 53.90% 10.50%
American Indian and Alaska Native 57 42.10% 4.20%
Asian 113 31.00% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 32 100.00% 0.00%
Other 61 32.80% 0.00%
Two or more races 182 56.00% 40.20%
Hispanic or Latino 419 63.20% 36.60%
Not Hispanic or Latino 13,526 54.10% 3.70%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Marion 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 Marion County is 7,894, with median earnings of $36,135.00.

Women in Marion County, Kentucky earning approximately 73.20% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 7,894 $36,135.00
Male 4,230 $41,708.00
Female 3,664 $30,545.00

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 715 $43,722.00
Business and Financial 264 $52,500.00
Computer and Mathematical 38 $47,500.00
Architecture and Engineering 251 $49,554.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 27 $44,519.00
Community and Social Service 188 $36,172.00
Legal 71 $87,552.00
Educational and Library 476 $35,000.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 47 $7,132.00
Healthcare Practitioners 528 $42,128.00
Healthcare Support 256 $20,369.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 6 $0.00
Law Enforcement 116 $51,818.00
Food Preparation and Serving 133 $7,679.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 378 $20,469.00
Personal Care and Service 34 $9,000.00
Sales 528 $23,472.00
Office and Administrative Support 641 $29,973.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 43 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 291 $41,198.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 479 $37,114.00
Production 1,385 $36,446.00
Transportation and Material Moving 536 $39,773.00

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 385 $57,063.00 330 $40,060.00
Business and Financial 139 $102,936.00 125 $24,750.00
Computer and Mathematical 36 $37,333.00 2 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 178 $65,909.00 73 $24,871.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 27 $44,519.00 0 $0.00
Community and Social Service 26 $30,682.00 162 $36,797.00
Legal 66 $87,813.00 5 $0.00
Educational and Library 36 $44,583.00 440 $28,750.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 21 $0.00 26 $0.00
Healthcare Practitioners 62 $110,125.00 466 $41,081.00
Healthcare Support 8 $0.00 248 $20,236.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 6 $0.00 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 94 $52,917.00 22 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 76 $5,476.00 57 $20,804.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 282 $12,060.00 96 $23,145.00
Personal Care and Service 5 $0.00 29 $9,417.00
Sales 273 $45,625.00 255 $11,477.00
Office and Administrative Support 157 $37,863.00 484 $28,152.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 43 $0.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 259 $42,938.00 32 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 430 $36,196.00 49 $43,469.00
Production 806 $40,417.00 579 $33,603.00
Transportation and Material Moving 451 $44,236.00 85 $23,258.00

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 7,536 households in Marion County, with an average household size of 2.45 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 4,676 families in Marion County with an average family size of 3.16 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 3,418 382 876 2,860
Average Household Size 3.2 3.7 3.29 1.13
Total Families 3,418 382 876 0
Average Household Size 3.19 2.98 3.12 0

Poverty

Of the 4,676 families in Marion County, 12.00% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Marion 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 8,332 housing units in Marion County, Kentucky.

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

Total Percentage
Occupied 7,536 90.45%
Vacant 796 9.55%

21.76% of the total 8,332 housing units in Marion County are rental units. This is approximately 1,813 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 5,476 are occupied by the owner - or 65.72% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Marion County is $635.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Marion 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
    247
  • Less than $500
    612
  • $500 to $999
    1,089
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    112
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    0
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Marion County is $122,600.00.

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

  • Less than $50,000
    600
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    1,362
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    1,305
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    884
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    811
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    379
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    130
  • $1,000,000 or more
    5

Property Age

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

  • 1939 or earlier
    880
  • 1940 to 1949
    398
  • 1950 to 1959
    650
  • 1960 to 1969
    907
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,281
  • 1980 to 1989
    962
  • 1990 to 1999
    1,551
  • 2000 to 2009
    937
  • 2010 to 2013
    721
  • 2014 or later
    45

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 Marion County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    500
  • 1 vehicle available
    2,370
  • 2 vehicles available
    2,357
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    2,309

Commuting to Work

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

20.4 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Marion 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
    343
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    1,287
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    1,503
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    1,287
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    697
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    357
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    635
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    120
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    154
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    330
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    303
  • 90 or more minutes
    122

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Marion 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 Marion County, Kentucky

We have data for 11 places in Marion County, Kentucky. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.