42653 ZIP Code
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ZIP code 42653 covers Whitley City, Kentucky, with a population of about 3,911 and a median household income of $45,841.
- Population
- 3,91148 per square mile
- Median age
- 37.21.5 points below the US average
- Median household income
- $45,84127% below the Kentucky median
- Poverty rate
- 27.5%15.1 points above the US average
- Typical home value
- $103,898up 22.6% in five years
- Median rent
- $83011% below the Kentucky median
- Degree or higher
- 8.3%26.7 points below the US average
- Homeownership
- 75.2%10.2 points above the US average
- Time zone
- Eastern UTC-05:00observes daylight saving time
- Businesses
- 91
Where 42653 is
Whitley City, Kentucky — the area the Census Bureau draws for this ZIP code. ZIP codes are sets of delivery routes rather than areas, so this is the Census approximation of one, not a Postal Service boundary.
People and households
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Population | 3,911 |
|---|---|
| Median age | 37.2 |
| Family households | 71.7% |
| Born outside the US | 0.8% |
| Speaks a language other than English at home | 2.9% |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 92.2% |
| Black (non-Hispanic) | 1.7% |
| Asian (non-Hispanic) | 0% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1.1% |
| Veterans | 7.1% |
Income and poverty
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Median household income | $45,841 |
|---|---|
| Income per person | $16,763 |
| Poverty rate | 27.5% |
| Households on SNAP or cash assistance | 29.8% |
Household income distribution
| Under $10k | |
|---|---|
| $10–15k | |
| $15–20k | |
| $20–25k | |
| $25–30k | |
| $30–35k | |
| $35–40k | |
| $40–45k | |
| $45–50k | |
| $50–60k | |
| $60–75k | |
| $75–100k | |
| $100–125k | |
| $125–150k | |
| $150–200k | |
| $200k or more |
Income as declared to the IRS
Filed returns rather than survey responses, so this counts tax units and not households.
| Tax returns filed | 1,460 |
|---|---|
| Mean adjusted gross income | $43,558 |
| Returns declaring $200,000 or more | 0% |
| Returns, under $25k | 40.4% |
| Returns, $25k–$50k | 30.1% |
| Returns, $50k–$75k | 13.7% |
| Returns, $75k–$100k | 6.8% |
| Returns, $100k–$200k | 8.9% |
| Returns, $200k or more | 0.0% |
Housing
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Median home value | $104,600 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $830 |
| Owner-occupied | 75.2% |
| Vacant homes | 30.2% |
| Median year built | 1984 |
What the homes are
| Detached house | |
|---|---|
| Attached house | |
| 2 to 4 units | |
| 5 to 19 units | |
| 20 or more units | |
| Mobile home |
Home values and rents today
Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, courtesy of Zillow. Monthly and current, where the Census figures above are a five-year average and are capped at $2,000,000.
| Typical home value | $103,898as of 2026-07 |
|---|---|
| Typical home value, 1 year | down 11% |
| Typical home value, 5 years | up 22.6% |
| Typical home value, 10 years | up 59.1% |
$62,331 in 2013 to $103,898 in 2026.
Work, commuting and education
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Unemployment rate | 1.9% |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 8.3% |
| High school diploma or higher | 79.1% |
| Works from home | 5.4% |
| Drives to work alone | 80.1% |
| Takes public transport | 0.2% |
| Commutes 45 minutes or more | 40.9% |
Health
CDC PLACES 2025 release, model-based estimates. These are modelled small-area estimates for adults, not counts of diagnosed cases.
| Colorectal screening | 59.4% 4.9 pts below the national average of 64.3% |
|---|---|
| Visited a dentist | 45.6% 15.7 pts below the national average of 61.3% |
| Mammography use | 66.9% 9 pts below the national average of 75.9% |
| Sleeps under 7 hours | 44.3% 7.9 pts above the national average of 36.4% |
| All natural teeth lost | 35.1% 22.1 pts above the national average of 13% |
Business and employment
Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2022
| Business establishments | 91 |
|---|---|
| People employed | 934 |
| Annual payroll | $25,794,000 |
Natural hazard risk
FEMA National Risk Index, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data — the NRI is not published per ZIP.
| Overall risk | Higher than 45.2% of US census tracts |
|---|---|
| FEMA rating | Relatively Low |
| Expected annual loss | 24 out of 100 |
| Community resilience | 0.9 out of 100 |
By hazard
Score is out of 100 and is the area-weighted average across the census tracts this ZIP code covers. The rating beside it is the highest any one of those tracts carries.
| Landslide | 97.7Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
|---|---|
| Winter weather | 95.2Very High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Strong wind | 91.1Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Wildfire | 88Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Lightning | 87.9Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Cold wave | 87.7Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Hail | 82Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Tornado | 70.8Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Earthquake | 67.2Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Hurricane | 51.9Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Heat wave | 51.7Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Ice storm | 49.7Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| River flooding | 34.1Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Avalanche | 19.7Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
Compared with Kentucky and the United States
State and national columns are figures for those areas, not for this ZIP code. American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| This ZIP | Kentucky | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $45,841 | $62,417 | $78,538 |
| Income per person | $16,763 | $34,960 | $43,289 |
| Poverty rate | 27.5% | 16.1% | 12.4% |
| Median home value | $104,600 | $192,300 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $830 | $933 | $1,348 |
| Homeownership | 75.2% | 68.3% | 65% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 8.3% | 27% | 35% |
| Unemployment rate | 1.9% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Works from home | 5.4% | 9.1% | 13.5% |
| Born outside the US | 0.8% | 4.4% | 13.9% |
| Median age | 37.2 | 39.1 | 38.7 |
Climate
NOAA US Climate Normals 1991-2020, from the nearest weather station with a full year of records. The station and its distance are named above, because a station forty kilometres away describes somewhere else.
| Weather station | STEARNS 2S, KY US5.4 km away |
|---|---|
| Rain in a year | 56 in |
Average high and low by month
| January | 45°F / 23.9°F4.78 in rain |
|---|---|
| February | 48.5°F / 25.6°F4.46 in rain |
| March | 58.8°F / 32.6°F5.17 in rain |
| April | 68.9°F / 40.6°F4.69 in rain |
| May | 76.5°F / 50.6°F5.51 in rain |
| June | 81.8°F / 59.3°F5.25 in rain |
| July | 85.4°F / 63.3°F6.12 in rain |
| August | 84.6°F / 61.6°F3.67 in rain |
| September | 79.5°F / 54.4°F3.65 in rain |
| October | 69.3°F / 41.5°F3.27 in rain |
| November | 57.5°F / 32.1°F3.76 in rain |
| December | 47.8°F / 27.4°F5.75 in rain |
Access to food
USDA Food Access Research Atlas, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Each figure is the share of the ZIP code's land area that falls in a tract carrying that flag.
| Low income and far from a supermarket | None of this ZIP code |
|---|---|
| Far from a supermarket | None of this ZIP code |
| No vehicle and far from a supermarket | 53% of this ZIP code's area |
School districts
NCES Geographic Relationship File 2025, which states the association between each district and each ZIP code tabulation area directly. Elementary and secondary districts can cover the same ground, so shares need not total 100%.
| McCreary County School District | 100% of this ZIP code's land area |
|---|
Community and walkability
CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 and the EPA National Walkability Index, both estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Vulnerability figures are national percentile ranks, not measurements.
| Overall social vulnerability | 65more vulnerable than 65% of US census tracts |
|---|---|
| Socioeconomic status | 70more vulnerable than 70% of US census tracts |
| Household characteristics | 39more vulnerable than 39% of US census tracts |
| Racial and ethnic minority status | 7more vulnerable than 7% of US census tracts |
| Housing type and transport | 81more vulnerable than 81% of US census tracts |
| Walkability | 4.1 out of 20Least walkable |
Nearby ZIP codes
The closest ZIP codes by centre point, which is not the same as sharing a border.
| 42631 Marshes Siding, KY | 2.7 km away |
|---|---|
| 42647 Stearns, KY | 4.6 km away |
| 42638 Revelo, KY | 5.4 km away |
| 42635 Pine Knot, KY | 7.7 km away |
| 42649 Strunk, KY | 11.9 km away |
| 42634 Parkers Lake, KY | 12.7 km away |
| 37892 Winfield, TN | 18.3 km away |
| 37841 Oneida, TN | 24.7 km away |
Location, counties and time zone
County shares from Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files. Time zone from the USDOT National Transportation Atlas, which renders the boundaries written into 49 CFR Part 71.
| McCreary County | 100% of this ZIP code's land area |
|---|---|
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-05:00 standard) |
| Daylight saving time | Observed |
| Land area | 81.2 sq mi |
| Water area | 1.24 sq mi |
| Population density | 48 people per sq mi |
| Latitude, longitude | 36.7217, -84.4676 |
Figures are published for this ZIP code or its Census tabulation area unless a section says otherwise. Estimates whose margin of error made them unreliable are omitted rather than shown. Sources: US Census Bureau, CDC, IRS.