Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHousehold incomes in Somerset trail those of 98% of U.S. towns
Somerset grades D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. 27.2% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 16.1% for Kentucky as a whole. About half work in Somerset itself; outside it, Lexington draws the most (2%, 66 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Somerset
Somerset fills up on a workday
Somerset has 17,433 jobs, 3.8 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 26,000 people are in town, more than double the 13,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Somerset draws workers from far and wide
The 17,433 jobs in Somerset are filled from a wide area. Somerset’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 7%; the other 80% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Fewer than half of Somerset workers earn over $40,000 a year
44% of Somerset’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 16% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Somerset’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Somerset is better than 7% of U.S. towns, #126 of 142 in Kentucky. Job access by car holds Somerset’s grade up (ahead of 50% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($34,704, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Somerset could be anywhere from D to C−.
In and out of Somerset on a workday
On a workday 2,438 residents head out to work, 2,185 work right here, and 15,248 people come in from elsewhere.
About 26,000 people are in Somerset on a workday afternoon, 101% more than live here.
3.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting in to Somerset: where workers come from
Where Somerset clocks in
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The kinds of work in Somerset
17,433 jobs are based in Somerset.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Somerset, 2013 → 2023: 16,621 → 17,433. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Somerset’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Somerset: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Somerset workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,062 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where in the region Somerset works
About 22% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
For most of Somerset, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Somerset is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #42 of 142 in Kentucky. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.1% across Kentucky.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,449 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.2% of Somerset households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Somerset’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000, and where Somerset sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Francisville KY | 10,565 | $159K | 1.7% | 1.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 156 | Oakbrook KY | 10,211 | $95K | 2.5% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 745 | Alexandria KY | 10,994 | $102K | 7.7% | 3.2% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,285 | McMinnville TN | 13,943 | $47K | 20.7% | 9.0% | 24% | D |
| 2,286 | Kewanee IL | 12,115 | $51K | 17.9% | 8.9% | 39% | D |
| 2,287 | Somerset KY | 12,695 | $35K | 27.2% | 8.7% | 47% | D |
| 2,288 | Brownsville TN | 9,301 | $43K | 25.7% | 8.6% | 37% | D |
| 2,289 | Makaha HI | 10,066 | $65K | 25.0% | 10.0% | 1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Somerset, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
The towns around Somerset
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Somerset workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset | – | D | B+ | 24 min | $34,704 |
| Ferguson | under 1% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Burnside | 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Science Hill | under 1% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Ferguson, Burnside and Science Hill: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Burnside. Darker towns draw more of Somerset’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Somerset: questions
What is the median household income in Somerset?
$34,704 (±$4,325) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Somerset?
27.2%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Somerset?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Somerset work?
47% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lexington (2%, 66 mi), London (2%, 29 mi), Louisville (2%, 96 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Somerset walkable?
Somerset is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Somerset without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Somerset, from the people who make the trip.
More of Somerset
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.