Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

Safety50#461/924
Economy40#556/925
Housing84#153/925
Health21#732/925
Healthcare40#553/923
Environment3#889/917
Education20#742/925
Infrastructure27#677/925
Community40#558/925
Leisure & amenities24#703/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Henderson, KY micropolitan area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Pharmacies · high2.6 /10k
94/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low5.8%
87/100Kentucky 8.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Rent-burdened households · low40.2%
85/100Kentucky 45.4%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Drought exposure · low9%
84/100Kentucky 21%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAAggregated from counties
Child care cost burden · low23.1%
84/100Kentucky 25.2%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Social associations · high14.3 /10k
82/100Kentucky 10.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties

Weaknesses

Public EV charging ports · low0.2 /10k
3/100Kentucky 2.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyAggregated from counties
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.0 µg/m³
8/100Kentucky 8.2 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAggregated from counties
Comfortable days · low23.2%
11/100Kentucky 23.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAggregated from counties
Access to exercise opportunities · low55.3%
13/100Kentucky 69.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Preventable hospital stays · high3,756 /100k
13/100Kentucky 3,415 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Suicide rate · high24.7 /100k
15/100Kentucky 18.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.1 /1k (2021) → 2.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+143%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.0% (2015-2019) → 89.4% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New business applicationsImproving
5.9 /1k (2020) → 9.9 /1k (2025)
+67%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
Property crime rateImproving
1,716 /100k (2020) → 842 /100k (2025)
−51%5 yearsUS 1,929 /100k → 1,535 /100k
High ozone daysImproving
2 days (2017) → 1 days (2022)
−50%5 yearsUS 9 days → 7 days
Physical inactivityImproving
35.7% (2019) → 26.5% (2022)
−9.2 pts3 yearsUS 25.9% → 23.2%

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, Henderson, KY micropolitan area improved on 14 of 23 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 0 moved within the margin of error and 5 barely changed.

Earlier period
Latest period
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among metro and micro areas: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts. Periods differ by measure (most compare 2020 with 2025); each row names its own in its tooltip and in the table.

Improved14

Libraries+22%0.9 /10k → 1.0 /10k
Real income+44%$46,991 → $67,666
Broadband+15 points74.0% → 89.4%
Restaurants+15%6.1 /10k → 7.0 /10k
High school++3 points85.9% → 88.9%

Declined4

Traffic deaths+44%15.3 /100k → 22.0 /100k
Suicides+21%20.4 /100k → 24.7 /100k
Grocery stores−9.2%1.7 /10k → 1.6 /10k
Pharmacies−11%2.9 /10k → 2.6 /10k

All 23 measures

Change of every measure of Henderson, KY micropolitan area between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	1.9 /10k2020	2.3 /10k2025	+19%	Improved	73%
Average commute time	22.9 min2015-2019	24.0 min2020-2024	+1.1 min	Little change	27%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.4%2015-2019	18.5%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Improved	34%
Broadband subscriptions	74.0%2015-2019	89.4%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	91%
Distance to an airport	104 mi2020	104 mi2025	+0 mi	Little change	20%
Drug overdose deaths	18.6 /100k2020	11.3 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026	−39%	Improved	68%
Firearm deaths	19.5 /100k2020	17.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−9%	Improved	64%
Grocery stores	1.7 /10k2020	1.6 /10k2025	−9.2%	Declined	25%
Gyms and fitness centers	0.9 /10k2020	0.9 /10k2025	+0.9%	Little change	46%
High school diploma or higher	85.9%2015-2019	88.9%2020-2024	+3 points	Improved	81%
Homicide rate	5.1 /100k2020	4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−6.8%	Improved	28%
Income adjusted for local prices	$46,9912019	$67,6662024	+44%	Improved	95%
New business applications	5.9 /1k2020	9.9 /1k2025	+67%	Improved	78%
Pharmacies	2.9 /10k2020	2.6 /10k2025	−11%	Declined	44%
Property crime rate	1,716 /100k2020	842 /100k2025	−51%	Improved	86%
Public libraries	0.9 /10k2019	1.0 /10k2024	+22%	Improved	96%
Public transit commuters	0.3%2015-2019	0.3%2020-2024	+0 points	Little change	87%
Rent-burdened households	42.6%2015-2019	40.2%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Improved	76%
Restaurants and bars	6.1 /10k2020	7.0 /10k2025	+15%	Improved	87%
Suicide rate	20.4 /100k2020	24.7 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+21%	Declined	25%
Traffic deaths	15.3 /100k2015-2019	22.0 /100k2020-2024	+44%	Declined	8%
Unemployment rate	6.4%2020	4.6%2025	−1.8 points	Improved	18%
Violent crime rate	170 /100k2020	178 /100k2025	+4.7%	Little change	22%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 708 metro and micro areas that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts; Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence; American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; Business Formation Statistics; Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master files; Public Libraries Survey; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Distance to airports and intercity rail. 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 925 metro and micro areas 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.

Metro and micro areas like Henderson, KY micropolitan area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Henderson, KY micropolitan area 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, Henderson, KY micropolitan area itself moved +1.4 points in standing on average over the same 22 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

57,122 residents

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59

Income

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

Household income

23,445 households (±418)

Henderson, KY micropolitan area
United States share

Under $25k20%4,605
$25k–50k24%5,575
$50k–75k19%4,506
$75k–100k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

23,445 households (±418)

Henderson, KY micropolitan area
United States share

Own67%15,647
Rent33%7,798

Table view

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

24,553 workers (±695)

Henderson, KY micropolitan area
United States share

Drive alone79%19,287
Carpool12%2,950
Public transit0.3%†73

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 no occupation wages for Henderson, KY micropolitan area.

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.

Henderson, KY has 1,168 employer establishments, 205 for every 10,000 residents (0.83× the US rate of 248), with 18,197 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,083. The Census Bureau also counts 3,186 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,168; 3,186 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 205; US 248
Paid employees: 18,197
Average annual pay: $51,083; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	103	18.1	0.87×About typical	989	$70,112	94
Restaurants and other eating places	87	15.3	0.83×About typical	1,646	$16,744	20
Specialty trade contractors	71	12.5	0.81×About typical	806	$66,672	275
Religious organizations	60	10.5	1.90×More than typical	329	$18,830	—
Limited-service restaurants	42	7.4	0.92×About typical	756	$15,083	8
Lessors of real estate	40	7	0.57×Fewer than typical	192	$26,391	293
Full-service restaurants	37	6.5	0.85×About typical	740	$17,568	7
Offices of physicians	35	6.1	0.95×About typical	358	$103,832	27
Building equipment contractors	34	6	0.99×About typical	461	$73,861	42
Truck transportation	32	5.6	1.11×About typical	362	$50,630	61
Gasoline stations	29	5.1	1.57×More than typical	220	$24,150	—
Offices of other health practitioners	28	4.9	0.81×About typical	198	$46,970	44

Rank places for an industry

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 56,970 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.
A metro area's figures are the exact sums of its counties.
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 contract spending

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $2.3M on contracts performed in Henderson, KY micropolitan area: $40.22 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2.3M; −53% vs FY2025
Per resident: $40.22; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 14%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$1.9M81%
Department of the Army$367.4K

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $403.5M in grants, loans, direct payments and insurance for Henderson, KY micropolitan area: $7,057 per resident (US $12,955).

Assistance · FY2026: $403.5M; −19% vs FY2025
Per resident: $7,057; US $12,955
Loan face value: $12.6M; lent or guaranteed
To individuals: 4.0%; counted, never named

Top programs

96.002 · Social Security Retirement Insurance$233.6M58%
96.001 · Social Security Disability Insurance$47.6M12%
96.004 · Social Security Survivors Insurance$27M6.7%
64.109 · Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$23.4M5.8%
96.006 · Supplemental Security Income$14.5M3.6%
20.205 · Highway Planning and Construction$8.9M2.2%
10.988 · Supplemental Disaster Relief Program$4.8M1.2%
10.990 · Farmer Bridge Assistance Program$4.3M1.1%

Top recipients (organizations)

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY$15.2M3.8%
FRANKFORT, KY
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF HENDERSON$5M1.2%
HENDERSON, KY
HENDERSON COUNTY FISCAL COURT$3.3M0.8%
HENDERSON, KY
REGIONAL HEALTH CARE AFFILIATES, INC.$2.6M0.6%
PROVIDENCE, KY
HENDERSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Organizations only: awards to individuals and county aggregate records count in the totals but are never listed. Grants to state governments recorded at the agency's own address are counted statewide, not in the capital's county.

Top agencies

Social Security Administration$322.7M80%
Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administration$27.1M6.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs
Federal Highway Administration$19M4.7%
Department of Transportation
Farm Service Agency$12.3M3.0%
Department of Agriculture
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing

Assistance by fiscal year

418.1MFY2021
378.9MFY2022
401.1MFY2023
395.5MFY2024
495.5MFY2025
403.5MFY2026

County aggregates

87%

Share of obligations reported only as county totals of many small awards (for example Social Security or Medicare payments), with no recipient named.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Counties in Henderson, KY

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

HendersonPrincipal city27,852

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

Other metro and micro areas in Kentucky

Areas based in Kentucky, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

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.

Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
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
Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/M25775

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved14

Declined4

Metro and micro areas like Henderson, KY micropolitan area five years ago that improved

Who lives here

Age and sex

Income

Household income

Homes

Owners and renters

Getting to work

How people get to work

Jobs and pay

Local businesses

Federal contract spending

Top buying agencies

Federal grants & assistance

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

Counties in Henderson, KY

Principal cities

Largest cities and towns

Other metro and micro areas in Kentucky

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Similar metro and micro areas

Data and sources

Improved14

Declined4

Age and sex

Household income

Owners and renters

How people get to work

Race and Hispanic origin

Education

Rent paid

Home values

Age of homes

Size of homes

Time to get to work

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

Top buying agencies

By type

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

What was bought

Top industries (NAICS)

Largest awards