Mercer County, Kentucky Population 2024

23,294

Mercer County, Kentucky's estimated 2024 population is 23,294 with a growth rate of 0.85% in the past year according to the most recent United States census data. Mercer County, Kentucky is the 50th largest county in Kentucky. The 2010 population was 21,318 and has seen a growth of 9.27% since that time.

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change

41 Rows

Year
Population
Growth
Change
202924,2791970.82%
202824,0821970.82%
202723,8851970.83%
202623,6881970.84%
202523,4911970.85%
202423,2941970.85%
202323,0971970.86%
202222,900400.17%
202122,8602050.9%
202022,6557343.35%
201921,9212471.14%
201821,6741170.54%
201721,5571490.7%
201621,408250.12%
201521,383180.08%
201421,365650.31%
201321,300-33-0.15%
201221,333460.22%
201121,287-31-0.15%
201021,31800%
199019,1481370.72%
198019,0113,05119.12%
197015,9601,3649.35%
196014,596-47-0.32%
195014,643140.1%
194014,6291581.09%
193014,471-324-2.19%
192014,7957325.21%
191014,063-363-2.52%
190014,426-608-4.04%
189015,0348926.31%
188014,1429987.59%
187013,144-557-4.07%
186013,701-366-2.6%
185014,067-4,653-24.86%
184018,7201,0265.8%
183017,6942,10713.52%
182015,5872,95723.41%
181012,6302,98430.94%
18009,6462,55536.03%
17907,091-17,188-70.79%
2024 Growth Rate
0.85% (197)
County Website
Mercer County
County Seat
Harrodsburg
2020 Population
22,655
Area
249 mi²
Density
94 people/mi²
Growth Since 2020
2.82% (639)
Founded
1785

Population by Race

Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White20,81191.83%
Two or more races8163.6%
Black or African American7903.49%
Other race1410.62%
Native American590.26%
Asian420.19%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander30.01%

White

Two or more races

Black or African American

Other race

Native American

Asian

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Mercer County, Kentucky Population by Race

Mercer County, Kentucky Population Pyramid 2024

Mercer County, Kentucky Median Age

43.1

Total

41.9

Male

44.6

Female

Mercer County, Kentucky Adults

There are 17,751 adults, (4,267 of whom are seniors) in Mercer County, Kentucky.

Mercer County, Kentucky Age Dependency

68.1

Age Dependency Ratio

31.6

Old Age Dependency Ratio

36.4

Child Dependency Ratio

Mercer County, Kentucky Sex Ratio

Female11,31949.95%
Male11,34350.05%

Mercer County, Kentucky Population by Age

Mercer County, Kentucky Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All9,0792.4874.425.6
Married4,5923.2786.113.9
Non Family3,3971.1563.736.3
Female6153.6471.228.8
Male4752.7642.157.9

3.21

Average Family Size

2.48

Average Household Size

74.4%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Mercer County, Kentucky Households and Families

Male

Female

Education Attained
Count
Percentage
9th to 12th Grade8545.39%
Associates Degree1,75611.08%
Bachelors Degree2,07013.06%
Graduate Degree1,3628.6%
High School Graduate5,57435.18%
Less Than 9th Grade7124.49%
Some College3,51822.2%

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Mercer County, Kentucky Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Mercer County, Kentucky Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

Race
Total
High School
Bachelors
White14,64413,2983,204
Black641618173
Hispanic40122838
2+ Races27319417
Other Race392815
Asian1900
Native American17160
Islander330

The highest rate of high school graduation is among islander people with a rate of 100%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among other race people with a rate of 38.46%.

Mercer County, Kentucky Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

Name
Average
Male
Female
Bachelors Degree$54,861$58,750$53,333
Graduate Degree$58,973$65,139$57,763
High School Graduate$36,978$43,019$29,572
Less Than 9th Grade$23,629$24,088$23,063
Overall$40,230$46,002$35,474
Some College$38,553$50,000$34,493

$40,230

Average Earnings

$46,002

Average Male

$35,474

Average Female

Mercer County, Kentucky Earnings by Educational Attainment

Mercer County, Kentucky Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Mercer County, Kentucky Language

96.07% of Mercer County, Kentucky residents speak only English, while 3.93% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 2.7% of the population.

Mercer County, Kentucky Language

Mercer County, Kentucky Poverty by Race

rate

Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
White20,2602,20510.88%
Hispanic74320827.99%
Multiple8169711.89%
Other1417351.77%
Native594372.88%
Black781283.59%
Asian421945.24%

11.21%

Overall Poverty Rate

9.89%

Male Poverty Rate

12.52%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Mercer County, Kentucky

The race most likely to be in poverty in Mercer County, Kentucky is Native, with 72.88% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Mercer County, Kentucky is Black, with 3.59% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 1.27%. Among those working part-time, it was 12.14%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 18.63%.

Mercer County, Kentucky Poverty

rate

Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade29.54%
High School10.28%
Some College8.77%
Bachelors or Greater3.05%

Mercer County, Kentucky Poverty Rate by Education

rate

Rate
Poverty
Male Unemployed18.13%
Female Unemployed12.67%
Female Employed7.46%
Male Employed1.42%

Mercer County, Kentucky Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Mercer County, Kentucky Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

Name
Median
Mean
Families$78,846$88,137
Households$60,728$71,935
Married Families$85,843$-999,999,999
Non Families$36,004$42,035

mean

median

Income by Household Type

Mercer County, Kentucky Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

52.3%

Overall Marriage Rate

54.4%

Male Marriage Rate

50.3%

Female Marriage Rate

Mercer County, Kentucky Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Mercer County, Kentucky Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is 35-44, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.

Mercer County, Kentucky Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Mercer County, Kentucky Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

1,447

Number of Veterans

1,376

Male Veterans

71

Female Veterans

War
Veterans
Vietnam416
First Gulf War318
Second Gulf War290
Korea89
World War II43

Mercer County, Kentucky Veterans by War

count

Age Group
Veterans
75+414
65 to 74388
35 to 54266
55 to 64248
18 to 34131

Mercer County, Kentucky Veterans by Age

count

Name
Veterans
% of Total
White1,3290.08141386914971821
Black1140.15811373092926492
2+ Races40.008048289738430584

Mercer County, Kentucky Veterans by Race

Mercer County, Kentucky Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

13.06%

Veteran Poverty Rate

33.5%

Veteran Disability Rate

Mercer County, Kentucky Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

57.6%

Labor Force Participation

54.8%

Employment Rate

4.5%

Unemployment Rate

Mercer County, Kentucky Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Mercer County, Kentucky Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Mercer County, Kentucky Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

76.78%

Born in Mercer County, Kentucky

97.82%

Native Born

2.18%

Foreign Born

1.67%

Non Citizen

0.51%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

97.82% of Mercer County, Kentucky residents were born in the United States, with 76.78% having been born in Kentucky. 1.67% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Mercer County, Kentucky Place of Birth

Sources