Carter County, Kentucky Housing Market

In Carter County, Kentucky, the median home value is $132,800, with a median monthly rent of $740. This places Carter County at #2459 nationally out of 3134 counties by median home value, and #74 within Kentucky.

Median Home Value $132,800
Median Rent $740/mo
Owner Occupancy 80.0%
Price/Rent Ratio 15.0

📈 Price Trend (2017 → 2024)

📊 Recent Market Momentum (FHFA HPI)

FHFA House Price Index — All-Transactions, Annual (2000 = 100) · Latest: 2025

💡 Year-over-Year Trend: Home prices in Carter County rose +0.4% year-over-year as of 2025. (Source: FHFA)

📍 Economic Snapshot

💼

Employment & Wages

4,324
jobs (private sector)
  • Avg weekly wage: $865
  • Establishments: 618
  • BLS QCEW, 2025
🏗️

Housing Supply

3
new units authorized (2025)
  • Single-family: 3
  • Multi-family: 0
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey
🚚

Migration Patterns

+394
net migration (filers, 2021-2022)
  • Inflow: 9,104 (avg $53,557)
  • Outflow: 8,710 (avg $54,058)
  • IRS Statistics of Income

📍 Sub-Market Activity

Top 2 active ZIP codes in Carter County · Latest: 2025

# ZIP Code HPI YoY Change Latest Year
1 40351 212.8 +12.11% 2025
2 41143 197.2 -6.61% 2025

Source: FHFA HPI for Five-Digit ZIP Codes (All-Transactions Index, 2000 = 100).
This product uses FHFA Data but is neither endorsed nor certified by FHFA.

How Carter County Compares

MetricCarter CountyKentucky AverageU.S. Average
Median Home Value $132,800 $160,835 $227,706
Median Gross Rent $740 $793 $968
Owner Occupancy Rate 80.0% 73.4% 73.3%
Price/Rent Ratio 15.0 16.6 18.7

Market Analysis

The median home value in Carter County is 17.4% below the Kentucky state average and 41.7% below the U.S. national average. The median rent of $740/month is 6.7% below the state average.

With a price-to-rent ratio of 15.0, the buy-vs-rent decision in Carter County is balanced. Whether buying or renting makes more sense depends on your time horizon, down payment capacity, and local market conditions.

Carter County has an owner-occupancy rate of 80.0%, compared to 73.4% in Kentucky and 73.3% nationally. This indicates a more homeowner-heavy market than the U.S. average.

Similar Counties by Home Value

CountyStateMedian Home ValueMedian Rent
Walsh County North Dakota $132,700 $748
Tripp County South Dakota $132,900 $820
Crawford County Kansas $132,600 $849
Reno County Kansas $132,500 $863
Clark County Illinois $132,400 $861

Other Counties in Kentucky

CountyMedian Home ValueMedian RentOwner Occ.
Whitley County $131,800 $798 66.8%
Greenup County $134,000 $860 80.3%
Fleming County $134,700 $715 74.8%
Boyd County $130,700 $849 70.2%
Wayne County $135,700 $727 69.1%

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates (2017–2024). Variables: B25077 (Median Home Value), B25064 (Median Gross Rent), B25003 (Tenure). Data collected on 2026-10-14. The price-to-rent ratio is calculated as Median Home Value ÷ (Median Monthly Rent × 12).