Boyd County, Kentucky Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Boyd County, KY Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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C
Health Below average
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D
Income Well below average
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D
Education Well below averageBetter educated than 82% of counties in Kentucky
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Boyd County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 47,914 | 4,533,530 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 295.8 | 112.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.32% | 0.33% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 44.0 | 37.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 19,307 | 1,813,524 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Boyd County declined by 2.6% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 47,914 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Boyd County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 21.4% of residents. That is 1.3 points above Kentucky as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 8,930 18.6% -2.7 pts
- Millennials 29–44 9,698 20.2% -0.7 pts
- Gen X 45–60 10,270 21.4% +1.3 pts
- Boomers 61–79 9,567 20.0% +2.1 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Kentucky, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 49.9% of the people living in Boyd County and men 50.1%.
- Women 49.9% Kentucky 50.5%
- Men 50.1% Kentucky 49.5%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Boyd County
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Economy
Boyd County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Boyd County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $61,181 | $64,312 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 4.15% | 4.62% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.4% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Boyd County is about 5% lower than in Kentucky.
Housing
| Metric | Boyd County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $110,938 | $118,017 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $849 | $967 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 70.2% | 68.3% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Boyd County is about 10.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $849 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Boyd County spend about 35 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 147 hours, about 6.1 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Boyd County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 17.6 | 20.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 35.3 | 41.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 147 | 173 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,557 | $5,369 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 5.9% | 10.2% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 5,550 | 6,995 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,262 | 832 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Kentucky:
Calloway County (13.9 min), Owsley County (15.0 min), Taylor County (15.3 min).
Slowest:
Owen County (37.7 min), Spencer County (33.3 min), Bracken County (33.2 min).
The average commute time in Boyd County is 18 minutes, shorter than the 21 minutes in Kentucky.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Boyd County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Boyd County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 19.7% | 24.5% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.38 | 2.43 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Kentucky:
Fayette County (0.4), Oldham County (0.4), Campbell County (0.3).
Lowest:
Leslie County (0.1), Lee County (0.1), Elliott County (0.1).
Health
Boyd County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Boyd County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 74.5 | 75.0 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 22.7% | 23.2% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 24.9% | 26.0% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Kentucky:
Oldham County (0.8), Boone County (0.8), Scott County (0.8).
Lowest:
Clay County (0.7), Bell County (0.7), McCreary County (0.7).
Boyd County, KY Compared With Nearby Counties
Boyd County, KY is the 2nd largest of the 5 counties compared here, 47,914 residents against a local median of 36,897. Boyd County, KY's commute, at 17.6 min, runs 19% below the 21.7 min typical of the counties around it. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves sit within 2.8 min of each other on commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Boyd County, KY, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Boyd County, KY has the lowest commute of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boyd County, KY | 47,914 | $61,181 #2/5 | $110,938 #2/5 | 17.6 min #1/5 |
| Lawrence County, OH | 56,809 | $58,057 | $115,918 | 20.9 min |
| Greenup County, KY | 35,630 | $61,187 | $95,536 | 21.6 min |
| Wayne County, WV | 38,164 | $59,127 | $98,860 | 21.8 min |
| Carter County, KY | 26,341 | $51,424 | $78,748 | 23.7 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Boyd County, Kentucky.
How many people live in Boyd County, Kentucky?
About 47,914 people live in Boyd County, Kentucky, in 19,307 households of 2.4 people on average. The median age is 44.0, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 7 years.
Is Boyd County, Kentucky urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Boyd County, Kentucky has 296 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 3.4 times the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Boyd County, Kentucky?
The median home costs 1.8 times the median household income ($110,938 against $61,181), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $849 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How common is a college degree in Boyd County, Kentucky?
19.7% of adults in Boyd County, Kentucky hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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