County profile
Laurel County, KY
United States · GDP 2024
#988 of 3,127 US counties by GDP53rd-percentile growthmore diversified than 87% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$3.0B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+4.7%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
23,992
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
1,272
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$46.2k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
63,746
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
6.7%
Median HH income
$57.8k±$7.8k
Bachelor's degree+
17.5%±1.6%
Poverty rate
20.5%±2.5%
Business applications
740 · 2025
Retail establishments
278
44.0/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1Puissant Industries, Inc.Energy$472.6k——HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Manufacturing22%
Retail trade19%
Health care17%
Food & accommodation15%
Admin & support14%
Transportation13%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
63,746
residents · 2025 · +1.6% since 2020
Income per capita $44.8k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+1,595
International migration+81
Natural change−710
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$2.2B2019
$2.3B2020
$2.5B2021
$2.6B2022
$2.8B2023
$3.0B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$159.5k±$6.1k
Median gross rent
$813/mo±$32/mo
Vacancy rate
10.5%±1.7%
Affordability
3.5× wages
Residential permits
$2.1M
21 units · 0.3/1k pop
FEMA risk score
71.7
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$881/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Winter weather 91Hail 91Wildfire 90
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
1972016
2022017
2082018
2142019
2232020
2502021
2962022
3032023
3222024
3342025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↑ 91% since 2021112021
122022
62023
162024
212025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
1.4 km
I-75
Nearest freight rail
4.6 km
CSXT
Nearest port
86.4 km
VALLEY VIEW FERRY, LEXINGTON-FAYETTE
Nearest commercial airport
111.8 km
BLUE GRASS
Filing activity
SEC EDGARWage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$46.2k
avg. annual pay · +25% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Laurel?
Laurel's economy produced $3.0B in 2024, growing 4.7% year over year — about the middle of the pack among US counties. Its largest employment sector is manufacturing.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.