Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety80#3,159/15,637
Economy3#15,124/15,631
Housing89#1,606/14,977
Health0#15,562/15,609
Healthcare12#13,715/15,650
Environment35#10,072/15,453
Education3#15,192/15,649
Infrastructure8#14,456/15,650
Community21#12,324/15,651
Leisure & amenities35#10,222/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Clay City, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Powell County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Violent crime rate · low25 /100k
100/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2024Federal Bureau of InvestigationPowell County value
Property crime rate · low268 /100k
98/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2024Federal Bureau of InvestigationPowell County value
Job growth · high4.3%
97/100Kentucky -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataPowell County value
Pharmacies · high3.1 /10k
97/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPowell County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Kentucky 5.5 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPowell County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low1.7%
92/100Kentucky 8.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Median household income · low$23,816
1/100Kentucky $64,481United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Primary care physicians · low8 /100k
1/100Kentucky 63 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2021University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePowell County value
Adult smoking · high28.4%
1/100Kentucky 17.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Average weekly wage · low$820
1/100Kentucky $1,202United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPowell County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low5.0%
2/100Kentucky 27.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Reading scores · low2.50
2/100Kentucky 3.05United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePowell County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,124 (2015-2019) → 1,204 (2020-2024)
+7.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
31.9% (2015-2019) → 50.5% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
16.0% (2015-2019) → 1.7% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
58.6% (2015-2019) → 70.0% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
58.5% (2015-2019) → 49.0% (2020-2024)
−9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateImproving
11.2% (2015-2019) → 5.3% (2020-2024)
−5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Clay City, Kentucky improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Clay City, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.3 min2015-2019	21.7 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	55%
Broadband subscriptions	58.6%2015-2019	70.0%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Child poverty rate	31.9%2015-2019	50.5%2020-2024	+19 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Effective property tax rate	0.58%2015-2019	0.54%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	23%
High school diploma or higher	63.1%2015-2019	64.5%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5072015-2019	0.4892020-2024	−0.018	Within the margin of error	66%
Median household income	$20,7892015-2019	$23,8162020-2024	+15%	Within the margin of error	23%
Poverty rate	38.2%2015-2019	39.5%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	31.5%2015-2019	29.7%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Rent-burdened households	58.5%2015-2019	49.0%2020-2024	−9.5 points	Within the margin of error	81%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Clay City, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Clay City, Kentucky in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Clay City, Kentucky itself moved +6.7 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,204 residents (±284)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 men (−6.6 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,204 residents (±284)

Clay City, Kentucky
Kentucky share

White92%1,102
Black1.5%†18
Hispanic or Latino2.2%†27

Education

837 residents (±207)

Clay City, Kentucky
Kentucky share

No high school diploma35%†297
High school or GED40%†331
Some college15%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

530 households (±128)

Clay City, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k53%†283
$25k–50k21%†110
$50k–75k10%†54
$75k–100k7.2%†38
$100k–150k7.5%†40
$150k–200k0.9%†5
$200k or more0.0%0

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

530 households (±128)

Clay City, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own41%†219
Rent59%311

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

269 households (±72)

Clay City, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $75063%†170
$750–1,00026%†69
$1,000–1,50011%†30

Home values

219 homes (±89)

Clay City, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $150k82%†179
$150k–250k15%†33
$250k–400k3.2%†7

Age of homes

610 homes (±127)

Clay City, Kentucky
Kentucky share

2010 or later0.7%†4
2000–20097.7%†47
1980–199934%†210

Size of homes

610 homes (±127)

Clay City, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom15%†92
2 bedrooms29%†175

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

356 workers (±123)

Clay City, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone79%†281
Carpool15%†55
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.6%†2
Bike0.0%0
Work from home3.4%†12
Other1.7%†6

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

344 workers (±118)

Clay City, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under 15 min38%†130
15–29 min27%†94
30–44 min16%†56

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Powell County, the county holding most of Clay City's residents.

Powell County has 212 employer establishments, 163 for every 10,000 residents (0.66× the US rate of 248; 0.79× Kentucky's), with 1,878 paid employees at an average annual pay of $36,409. The Census Bureau also counts 755 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 212; 755 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 163; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 1,878
Average annual pay: $36,409; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Powell County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	21	16.2	0.78×Fewer than typical	111	$53,387	18
Restaurants and other eating places	19	14.6	0.80×Fewer than typical	304	$20,470	3
Specialty trade contractors	15	11.6	0.75×Fewer than typical	75	$53,840	94
Gasoline stations	13	10	3.09×More than typical	97	$18,103	—
Individual and family services	10	7.7	2.75×More than typical	54	$28,593	—
Limited-service restaurants	10	7.7	0.96×About typical	260	$18,973	—
Full-service restaurants	7	5.4	0.70×Too few to compare	43	$27,767	—
Outpatient care centers	7	5.4	2.93×Too few to compare	8	$61,375	—
Religious organizations	7	5.4	0.97×Too few to compare	26	$12,231	—
Building equipment contractors	6	4.6	0.77×Too few to compare	20	$44,950	19
Lessors of real estate	6	4.6	0.38×Too few to compare	18	$23,000	54
Other specialty trade contractors	6	4.6	1.84×Too few to compare	47	$55,021	33

Rank places for an industry Open Powell County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 12,981 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Clay City, Kentucky: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

214.1FY2018

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Clay City, Kentucky, so they do not add up across cities.

Clay City, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Powell County, KY ($35.3K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Clay City is mostly in Powell County.

See federal money in Powell County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Clay City, Kentucky is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Andy BarrR-KY-6 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 7.1%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Powell County12100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Powell County

Largest first.

Stanton113,218

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2115238