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Kentucky · Census place 71688

Somerset, KY population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Somerset, Kentucky (Somerset, KY — Census place “Somerset city”) is 12,108 residents, ranking #35 of 554 places in Kentucky. Median household income is $32,910, the median home is worth $140,900 and median gross rent runs $830 a month. Looking for the Somerset Kentucky ZIP code list? 2 ZIP codes serve Somerset, KY: 42501, 42503.

Population
12,108Somerset city residents
Median household income
$32,910Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value
$140,900Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent
$830Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age
39.1 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate
42.9%Owner-occupied households

Somerset ZIP codes (Kentucky)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Somerset.

The Somerset KY ZIP code list below covers 2 ZIP codes. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

What the numbers mean in Somerset city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Somerset city median would spend about 30.3% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 4.3× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 28.7% of residents and 42.9% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Somerset city, KY in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Somerset city is a mid-size town in Kentucky, with 12,108 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #35 of 554 ranked by population — larger than 93% of them. The median age here is 39.1 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Somerset city earn a median of $32,910 a year, 58.1% below the national figure of $78,538 and 41% below the $55,469 median for the 246 Kentucky cities we cover. Median household income counts every pre-tax dollar arriving at an address — wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, interest and public assistance — for everyone living there, so multi-earner households pull the figure up even where individual pay is modest. Poverty reaches 28.7% of residents here, well above the 12.4% national rate, which is the single clearest signal in this dataset that median income here is carried by a narrow band of households.

The typical owner-occupied home in Somerset city is valued at $140,900, 53.6% below the national figure and 10% below the $157,200 peer median, while median gross rent runs $830 a month, 41% below the national figure, or roughly $9,960 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 30.3% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is a stretch on median earnings. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 4.3×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 42.9% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, a renter-majority market, so rent figures matter more here than the home-value line. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in Kentucky.

More Kentucky coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Somerset city?
Somerset city has 12,108 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #35 of 554 in Kentucky.
What is the median household income in Somerset city?
Median household income in Somerset city is $32,910 a year, 58.1% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Somerset city?
Median gross rent is $830 a month and the median home value is $140,900, so rent absorbs about 30.3% of median household income.
Is Somerset city affordable compared with the rest of the US?
Homes cost about 4.3× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Somerset city is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 30.3% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Somerset city data?
All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.