Lexington Extension of the Louisville Southern Railroad · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHousehold incomes in Versailles trail those of 70% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Versailles itself; outside it, Lexington draws the most (36%, 14 miles). Below the poverty line: 16.4% of residents, where Kentucky as a whole has 16.1%. Versailles grades B− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Versailles apart on work
Versailles trades workers with the towns around it
Versailles has about as many jobs (5,015) as working residents (4,759), but they are mostly different people: 4,063 residents leave for work each day while 4,319 people come in. Only 14% of the jobs in Versailles are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Versailles and Lexington trade workers both ways
Lexington is the top workplace for Versailles residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Versailles come from (21% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Versailles
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Versailles is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #56 of 142 in Kentucky. Job access by car holds Versailles’ grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Versailles could be anywhere from C to B+.
The daily flow of workers through Versailles
On a workday 4,063 residents head out to work, 696 work right here, and 4,319 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.05 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Versailles to work: where people go
Where Versailles clocks in
5% of workers
3% 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.
Goods, not services: 29% of the jobs in Versailles
5,015 jobs are based in Versailles.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Versailles, 2013 → 2023: 5,411 → 5,015. 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 Versailles’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Versailles takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Versailles workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,770 commuters (the 13% 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.
Half of Versailles commutes less than 12 miles
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.
In Versailles, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Versailles is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #98 of 142 in Kentucky. Both inputs place Versailles near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,464 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). 8.4% of Versailles households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Versailles’ commuters take a bus or train.
Versailles next to U.S. towns of 8,000 to 14,000: 1,388th of 2,280 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Francisville KY | 10,565 | $159K | 1.7% | 1.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 141 | Oakbrook KY | 10,211 | $95K | 2.5% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 151 | Edgewood KY | 8,503 | $119K | 3.8% | 2.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,386 | Fruitvale CO | 8,019 | $78K | 9.9% | 4.0% | 2% | B− |
| 1,387 | Fishersville VA | 9,484 | $84K | 14.7% | 3.7% | 12% | B− |
| 1,388 | Versailles KY | 10,734 | $62K | 16.4% | 3.0% | 15% | B− |
| 1,389 | Baxter MN | 9,217 | $71K | 13.1% | 2.3% | 21% | B− |
| 1,390 | Redlands CO | 8,868 | $92K | 6.9% | 6.3% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,280 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Versailles, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
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 Versailles: questions
What is the median household income in Versailles?
$62,368 (±$5,677) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Versailles?
16.4%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Versailles?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Versailles work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lexington (36%, 14 mi), Frankfort (5%, 13 mi), Georgetown (3%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Versailles walkable?
Versailles is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Versailles without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Versailles, from the people who make the trip.
More of Versailles
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.