Counties / Kentucky / Grayson County

Grayson County, KY

FIPS 21085 · population 26,707 · outside every metro area

$160k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$160k
▼ 16.9% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$658
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$866
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

The annual signals disagree
FHFA five-year cumulative+51.4%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06−16.9%FHFA HPI2025+3.9%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$165k
Surveyed gross rent$658
Rent burden 30%+33.8%
Median year built1988
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
24.2%vacant
13,369estimated housing units
Occupied tenure25.4% renter
owner 74.6%renter 25.4%
Structure mix75.1% single-family
Single-family 75.1%20+ units 1.1%Mobile home 16.4%Other 7.4%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs7,241▼ 3.8% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments698annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$888▲ 4.8% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities24.2% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−3.8%WEEKLY WAGE+4.8%Trade, transportation, and utilities24.2%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Grayson County’s tension is a lower Zillow home-value reading alongside a rising FHFA transaction index: basis may be resetting while repeat-sale history remains positive. Zillow’s June 2026 median home value was $160,407, down 16.90% year over year. FHFA’s 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI, in contrast, rose 3.85% and was up 51.37% cumulatively over five years. These are different vintages and methods, not a common interval or averaged price signal. Investors able to verify asset-level basis and rents should investigate; those needing stable resale support should be cautious.

02Housing economics

Measured market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $866 per month is a payment standard, not an estimate of asking rent, and cannot substitute in a yield calculation. Carrying-cost screening has an effective property-tax rate of 0.57% and a median annual tax of $930, but neither establishes a specific parcel’s tax bill. Insurance, maintenance, utilities, vacancy, and rent-comparable evidence are not published; without them, net operating income and debt-service coverage cannot be underwritten.

03Demand & competition

Tax-return data indicate a net inflow of 97 households, with inbound mover income $2,996 above outbound movers. That is household-flow evidence, not occupancy, lease-up or buyer-demand proof. Investor purchase mortgages represented 12.73% of 275 total purchases; this does not identify cash buyers, purchase pricing, or investor exit plans. No Realtor.com MLS listing-price, active-listing, days-on-market, or price-reduction figures are published, preventing a read on visible supply and seller concessions.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is dominant, and modeled climate loss equals 0.16% of building value per year; parcel flood zone, prior losses, insurance quotes, and mitigation need review. QCEW reports annual average covered employment at county workplaces fell 3.80% in 2025, while covered-worker average weekly wage was $888, up 4.84%. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector by employment, not the entire economy. Verify flood exposure, rent and vacancy, operating costs, and sale comparables before relying on county signals.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Grayson County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Leitchfield city6.8KClarkson city865Caneyville city474Big Clifty CDP285
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

4 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Leitchfield cityIncorporated place
    6,819
  2. 02
    Clarkson cityIncorporated place
    865
  3. 03
    Caneyville cityIncorporated place
    474
  4. 04
    Big Clifty CDPCensus-designated place
    285

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.160% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.56%

$930 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+97

553 in · 456 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$2,996

$49,582 arriving · $46,586 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors12.7%

35 of 275 mortgages

investorother financed
No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Unpublished rents, vacancy, and operating costs could invalidate cash-flow underwriting.
  2. The Zillow decline and missing closed-sale and MLS evidence could leave resale liquidity different from the FHFA index signal.
  3. Inland-flood exposure and parcel-specific insurance costs could exceed the county-level modeled loss signal.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

What do the two price measures show?

Zillow indicates a county home-value decline, while the FHFA repeat-transaction index indicates appreciation; their differing methods and source periods prevent combining them into one trend.

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. Measured market rent is not published, and HUD FMR cannot be used as asking rent.

What visible MLS supply condition is available?

None. Realtor.com listing price, inventory, days-on-market, and price-reduction figures are not published.