Census-designated place · McCracken County, Kentucky

Massac, Kentucky

Massac is a census-designated place in McCracken County, Kentucky, part of the Paducah, KY-IL metro area. It has 4,698 residents. Massac, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 59 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,367 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #46 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), pharmacies (high) and reading scores (high). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), suicide rate (high) and primary care shortage (high).

59Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,367 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #46 of 243 in KY
Population: 4,698 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 1,162.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2150556

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety30#10,901/15,637
Economy71#4,533/15,631
Housing95#725/14,977
Health23#12,053/15,609
Healthcare65#5,414/15,650
Environment18#12,654/15,453
Education89#1,665/15,649
Infrastructure53#7,313/15,650
Community39#9,472/15,651
Leisure & amenities76#3,803/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Massac, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “McCracken 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

Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Kentucky 4.6%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Pharmacies · high3.3 /10k
97/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMcCracken County value
Reading scores · high3.48
97/100Kentucky 3.05United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcCracken County value
Child care cost burden · low18.9%
97/100Kentucky 25.2%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcCracken County value
Social associations · high16.5 /10k
94/100Kentucky 10.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcCracken County value
Restaurants and bars · high14.5 /10k
94/100Kentucky 8.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMcCracken County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high127 mi
4/100Kentucky 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMcCracken County value
Suicide rate · high28.2 /100k
5/100Kentucky 18.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMcCracken County value
Primary care shortage · high18.0
5/100Kentucky 10.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMcCracken County value
Firearm deaths · high25.2 /100k
6/100Kentucky 16.9 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMcCracken County value
Comfortable days · low22.8%
6/100Kentucky 23.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMcCracken County value
Food environment index · low6.7
10/100Kentucky 6.7United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcCracken County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
5,064 (2015-2019) → 4,698 (2020-2024)
−7.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Median household incomeImproving
$33,859 (2015-2019) → $92,560 (2020-2024)
+173%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
33.2% (2015-2019) → 13.0% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
29.3% (2015-2019) → 49.4% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
34.4% (2015-2019) → 16.5% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
57.8% (2015-2019) → 43.2% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Massac, Kentucky improved on 5 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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.

Improved5

Household income+173%$33,859 → $92,560
Price / income−2.9×5.5× → 2.6×
Inequality−0.1970.575 → 0.378
Bachelor's++20 points29.3% → 49.4%
Broadband+10 points83.6% → 93.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Massac, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.8 min2015-2019	16.5 min2020-2024	+1.7 min	Within the margin of error	30%
Bachelor's degree or higher	29.3%2015-2019	49.4%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	99%
Broadband subscriptions	83.6%2015-2019	93.9%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	61%
Effective property tax rate	0.62%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	13%
High school diploma or higher	93.8%2015-2019	93.1%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Home price to income ratio	5.5×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	−2.9×	Improved	100%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5752015-2019	0.3782020-2024	−0.197	Improved	100%
Median household income	$33,8592015-2019	$92,5602020-2024	+173%	Improved	100%
Poverty rate	18.9%2015-2019	10.1%2020-2024	−8.7 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Rent-burdened households	57.8%2015-2019	43.2%2020-2024	−15 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Unemployment rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	49%

“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 Massac, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Massac, 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, Massac, Kentucky itself moved +28.7 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

4,698 residents (±562)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

1,821 households (±269)

Massac, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k10%†186
$25k–50k14%†255
$50k–75k16%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,821 households (±269)

Massac, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own68%1,245
Rent32%†576

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+16.5 points).

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,219 workers (±363)

Massac, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone81%1,795
Carpool4.3%†95
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Paducah, KY-IL

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 McCracken County, the county holding most of Massac's residents.

McCracken County has 2,061 employer establishments, 305 for every 10,000 residents (1.23× the US rate of 248; 1.47× Kentucky's), with 34,581 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,807. The Census Bureau also counts 5,014 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,061; 5,014 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 305; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 34,581
Average annual pay: $53,807; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	216	32	1.53×More than typical	2,929	$83,136	356
Restaurants and other eating places	183	27.1	1.48×More than typical	3,864	$19,557	28
Specialty trade contractors	112	16.6	1.07×About typical	1,737	$71,737	363
Limited-service restaurants	88	13	1.62×More than typical	1,877	$17,723	8
Offices of physicians	79	11.7	1.81×More than typical	1,447	$112,921	57
Religious organizations	79	11.7	2.11×More than typical	629	$24,679	—
Full-service restaurants	74	11	1.43×More than typical	1,799	$22,061	12
Lessors of real estate	61	9	0.73×Fewer than typical	148	$46,534	541
Clothing and accessories stores	57	8.4	2.33×More than typical	641	$18,134	47
Building equipment contractors	54	8	1.33×More than typical	1,387	$76,731	67
Automotive repair and maintenance	52	7.7	1.53×More than typical	302	$43,404	76
Offices of other health practitioners	48	7.1	1.17×About typical	299	$49,913	120

Rank places for an industry Open McCracken County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 67,549 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 $43K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Massac, Kentucky: $9.15 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $43K; −42% vs FY2025
Per resident: $9.15; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.9%; 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

Department of the Army$40.8K95%
Social Security Administration$1,2492.9%
U.S. Coast Guard$8051.9%
Defense Logistics Agency$62.400.1%

Top recipients

ALEUT FLOOD MANAGEMENT, LLC$40.8K95%
FRANCONIA REAL ESTATE SERVICES, INC.$1,2492.9%
HAMHED LLC$8051.9%
PARAGON ONE GROUP LLC$62.400.1%

Spending by fiscal year

376.4KFY2017
712.9KFY2018
1.2MFY2019
191.5KFY2020
25.7KFY2021
10.1KFY2022
107.9KFY2023
80.1KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$40.8K95%
Offices of real estate agents and brokers · 5312$1,2492.9%
Facilities support services · 5612$8051.9%
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing · 3341$62.400.1%

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 Massac, Kentucky, so they do not add up across cities.

Massac, Kentucky's figures are part of those of McCracken County, KY ($3.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in McCracken 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.

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

House

James ComerR-KY-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.4%

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.

McCracken County58100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Paducah, KY-IL53

Other cities and towns in McCracken County

Largest first.

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/2150556

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends