City · Jessamine County, Kentucky

Wilmore, Kentucky

Wilmore is a city in Jessamine County, Kentucky, part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area. It has 6,057 residents. Wilmore, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 71 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,577 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #28 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), rent-burdened households (low) and income inequality (Gini index) (low). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), public EV charging ports (low) and comfortable days (low).

71High

Quality-of-life score: #4,577 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #28 of 243 in KY
Population: 6,057 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 1,216.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2183550

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety55#7,099/15,637
Economy63#5,793/15,631
Housing97#458/14,977
Health48#8,151/15,609
Healthcare38#9,780/15,650
Environment61#5,975/15,453
Education69#4,832/15,649
Infrastructure68#4,991/15,650
Community68#5,059/15,651
Leisure & amenities50#7,825/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent as share of income · low22.6%
97/100Kentucky 28.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · low29.5%
96/100Kentucky 45.4%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.349
92/100Kentucky 0.477United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Kentucky 10.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationJessamine County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high7.0 /10k
88/100Kentucky 4.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJessamine County value
Distance to an airport · low11 mi
87/100Kentucky 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauJessamine County value

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Kentucky 14.9United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationJessamine County value
Public EV charging ports · low1.2 /10k
13/100Kentucky 2.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyJessamine County value
Comfortable days · low23.5%
14/100Kentucky 23.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationJessamine County value
Drug overdose deaths · high25.4 /100k
17/100Kentucky 23.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataJessamine County value
Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
17/100Kentucky 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJessamine County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high69 mi
18/100Kentucky 78 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauJessamine County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
46.8% (2015-2019) → 29.5% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
33.0% (2015-2019) → 17.9% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$50,662 (2015-2019) → $77,665 (2020-2024)
+53%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
22.9% (2015-2019) → 12.5% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
56.3% (2015-2019) → 49.6% (2020-2024)
−6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
87.9% (2015-2019) → 92.8% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Wilmore, Kentucky improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 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.

Improved2

Inequality−0.1030.453 → 0.349
Household income+53%$50,662 → $77,665

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Wilmore, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.5 min2015-2019	20.3 min2020-2024	+2.8 min	Within the margin of error	21%
Bachelor's degree or higher	56.3%2015-2019	49.6%2020-2024	−6.7 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Broadband subscriptions	87.9%2015-2019	92.8%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Child poverty rate	33.0%2015-2019	17.9%2020-2024	−15 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Effective property tax rate	0.91%2015-2019	0.83%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
High school diploma or higher	95.5%2015-2019	96.7%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Home price to income ratio	3.4×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	85%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4532015-2019	0.3492020-2024	−0.103	Improved	96%
Median household income	$50,6622015-2019	$77,6652020-2024	+53%	Improved	87%
Poverty rate	22.9%2015-2019	12.5%2020-2024	−10 points	Within the margin of error	93%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	26.4%2015-2019	22.6%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Rent-burdened households	46.8%2015-2019	29.5%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.8%2015-2019	7.5%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	28%

“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 Wilmore, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wilmore, 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, Wilmore, Kentucky itself moved +12.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

6,057 residents (±33)

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

1,767 households (±198)

Wilmore, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k13%†227
$25k–50k20%†352
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,767 households (±198)

Wilmore, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own51%896
Rent49%871

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,945 workers (±323)

Wilmore, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone57%1,673
Carpool20%†586
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 Lexington-Fayette, KY

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 Jessamine County, the county holding most of Wilmore's residents.

Jessamine County has 1,353 employer establishments, 244 for every 10,000 residents (0.98× the US rate of 248; 1.18× Kentucky's), with 16,395 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,968. The Census Bureau also counts 5,385 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,353; 5,385 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 244; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 16,395
Average annual pay: $48,968; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	140	25.3	1.63×More than typical	951	$52,182	584
Ambulatory health care services	86	15.5	0.75×Fewer than typical	796	$65,668	227
Restaurants and other eating places	74	13.4	0.73×Fewer than typical	1,636	$19,686	22
Construction of buildings	67	12.1	1.60×More than typical	186	$52,290	209
Religious organizations	57	10.3	1.86×More than typical	511	$28,456	—
Building equipment contractors	56	10.1	1.68×More than typical	452	$49,409	142
Lessors of real estate	53	9.6	0.78×Fewer than typical	106	$45,557	560
Truck transportation	53	9.6	1.89×More than typical	88	$64,114	240
Services to buildings and dwellings	48	8.7	1.29×More than typical	455	$43,437	296
Limited-service restaurants	38	6.9	0.86×About typical	935	$17,994	10
Automotive repair and maintenance	36	6.5	1.29×More than typical	191	$46,319	90
Landscaping services	34	6.1	1.75×More than typical	385	$44,252	96

Rank places for an industry Open Jessamine County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 55,383 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Jessamine 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.

Wilmore, 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.

Jessamine County71100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Lexington-Fayette, KY78

Other cities and towns in Jessamine 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/2183550

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends