Official Federal Data
Hardin County, Kentucky
FIPS 21093 · Elizabethtown, KY · Population 111,942
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$67,647 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.9%
Unemployment
4% national
$7.3B ▲
GDP
24.8% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$67,647 ▲
Per Capita
$37,638 ▲
Mean Household
$93,596 ▲
Poverty Rate
13.1% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Hardin County$67,647
Kentucky$63,726
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 24.7%
18-34 · 21.7%
35-54 · 25.9%
55-64 · 12.7%
65+ · 15.1%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
92.4%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +2.8 pts
24.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 10.9 pts
9.8%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 4.3 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
111,942
Population
55,245
Labor Force
Employed
48,161
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.9%
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
9.2%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 10.9 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 8,887 workers (25.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $70,285.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $7.3B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $80,902 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $23,735, a 3.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Manufacturing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
6,824
Cluster Employment
11.64x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
11.64x 1,575
Machinery Manufacturing
5.28x 1,795
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
4.36x 2,368
Printing and Related Support Activities
2.18x 235
Chemical Manufacturing
1.84x 514
Building Material and Garden Supply Retailers
1.72x 739
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
1.66x 544
General Merchandise Retailers
1.57x 1,586
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
1.54x 337
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers
1.53x 979
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.18x
Educational Services
180 employed
0.27x
Support Activities for Transportation
70 employed
0.31x
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
55 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing concentrates at 11.64x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$225,800 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$971 ▲
Rent/Mo
62.6% ▲
Owner-Occ
7.2% ▼
Vacancy
3.3x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$841/mo
1 Bedroom
$846/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,056/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,469/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,771/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,691/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.3x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,691/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
67,385 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
9.2%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
73.5%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
24.8% ▲
HS Diploma+
92.4% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
35,189/yr
8,890/yr
6,956/yr
5,751/yr
5,011/yr
4,485/yr
4,096/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
21%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
36.1%
Service
15.5%
Sales & Office
18.8%
Construction / Maint.
7.9%
Production / Transport
21.7%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 48,161 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 21,597 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Hardin County shows strong potential for electrical equipment, appliance manufacturing attraction, with a 11.64x concentration and 1,575 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across electrical equipment, appliance manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, and transportation equipment manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Hardin County, Kentucky, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Hardin County, Kentucky?
111,942 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Hardin County, Kentucky?
$67,647 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Hardin County, Kentucky?
4.9% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Hardin County, Kentucky?
$7.3B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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