Rowan County, Kentucky Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Rowan 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.

  • C
    Health Below average
  • D
    Income Well below average
    Less wealthy than 79% of counties in Kentucky
  • D
    Education Well below average
    Better educated than 86% of counties in Kentucky

Source: Map AI Methodology

Rowan County
Click a county to open it Explore the map →
Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Rowan County Kentucky Avg U.S. Average
Population 24,578 4,533,530 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 85.8 112.2 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) 0.15% 0.33% 0.59%
Median age 32.9 37.5 37.3
Households 9,592 1,813,524 130,235,071

Population in Rowan County grew by 9.0% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 24,578 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Rowan County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Rowan County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 33.6% of residents. That is 12.2 points above Kentucky as a whole.

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 52.0% of the people living in Rowan County and men 48.0%.

How many residents match a customer profile?

Who to count

Residents matching this profile

24,578

100% of everyone living in Rowan County

Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.

Economy

Rowan County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.

Metric Rowan County Kentucky Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $55,857 $64,312 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 5.48% 4.62% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 4.1% 4.8% 5.2%

The median household income in Rowan County is about 13% lower than in Kentucky.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Rowan County Kentucky Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $49,998 $118,017 $248,835
Median rent $824 $967 $1,407
Homeownership rate 61.5% 68.3% 65.2%

The median home price in Rowan County is about 5.1 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $824 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Rowan County spend about 34 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 143 hours, about 6.0 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Rowan County Kentucky Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 17.2 20.8 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 34.4 41.6 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 143 173 187
Estimated yearly cost $4,440 $5,369 $5,790
Work from home 8.5% 10.2% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 4,010 6,995 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 679 832 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 Rowan County is 17 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.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Rowan County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.

Metric Rowan County Kentucky Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 21.2% 24.5% 31.6%
Average household size 2.25 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

Rowan County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.

Metric Rowan County Kentucky Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 75.3 75.0 78.3
Self-rated poor health 23.3% 23.2% 16.3%
Smokers 25.5% 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).

Full health data →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Rowan County, Kentucky.

What is the population of Rowan County, Kentucky?

About 24,578 people live in Rowan County, Kentucky, in 9,592 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 32.9, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 4 years.

Is Rowan County, Kentucky urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Rowan County, Kentucky has 86 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is close to the U.S. average of 86.

How affordable is housing in Rowan County, Kentucky?

The median home costs 0.9 times the median household income ($49,998 against $55,857), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $824 a month takes about 18% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

Is it hard to find a job in Rowan County, Kentucky?

Unemployment in Rowan County, Kentucky is only 4.1%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.

How common is a college degree in Rowan County, Kentucky?

21.2% of adults in Rowan County, Kentucky hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

Analyze any area in the US

Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.

Explore the map →