Groundwork

Real estate · County · Kentucky

Real estate businesses in Bell County, KY

The real estate businesses in Bell County, KY, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #899 of 2,229 scored counties
#40 of 75 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
11
4 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$114.8M
On rent and homeowner costs · $11,552 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
241
2.4 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.1
71% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
22,829
−4.8% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Bell County

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Bell County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 real estate businesses in Bell County. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 36%, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.1, 71% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Households in Bell County spend about $114.8M a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $11,552 per household, 31% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 2.4 times the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.

In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in Bell County classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors. That is one for every 3,313 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Another 45 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates put the population change in Bell County from 2020 to 2025 at −4.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in Bell County is 53 (upper middle), #899 of 2,229 scored counties and #40 of 75 scored counties in Kentucky.

How Bell County compares

The same measures for Kentucky and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Bell County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureBell CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.127.438.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)241120100
Households per official establishment3,313683414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+20.5%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.8%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$11,552$14,283$16,661
Median household income$31,354$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score5360

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
9
Annual payroll, 2023
$375K
One-person businesses, 2023
45Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
114 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
27The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Bell County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Bell County

Population, 2025 estimate
22,829−4.8% since 2020
Households
9,939
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
59%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
359 sq. mi.
People per square mile
65
Median household income
$31,354+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$49,259
Median home value
$89,000
Jobs located here
7,622
Daytime population
23,467Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Bell County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Bell County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Real estate across Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Bell County marked.

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Harrison County, KY80811.0300+4.9%#24 of 2,229
2Spencer County, KY801216.4233+7.7%#28 of 2,229
3Lincoln County, KY7699.3328+4.6%#84 of 2,229
4Grant County, KY7377.6429+4.7%#136 of 2,229
5Hart County, KY72810.8278+4.3%#161 of 2,229
6Woodford County, KY701816.6218+3.7%#210 of 2,229
7Nelson County, KY703015.7213+4.8%#211 of 2,229
8Anderson County, KY701818.6182+5.5%#216 of 2,229
9Meade County, KY681715.4225+2.2%#273 of 2,229
10Mercer County, KY671314.2230+4.8%#301 of 2,229
40Bell County, KY531111.1241−4.8%#899 of 2,229

Other business types in Bell County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Bell County, KY?

There are 11 real estate businesses on map listings in Bell County as of September 2026. 4 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts list 45 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Bell County, KY spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $114.8M a year, or $11,552 per household. That is 31% below the U.S. average (an index of 69, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 11 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 2.4 times the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 9,939 households in Bell County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Bell County, KY compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

Bell County has 11.1 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 71% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 241, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Bell County would have about 27, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,313 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.

How fast is Bell County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Bell County at 22,829 people in 2025, down 4.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 9,939 households. The median household income in Bell County is $31,354 a year, 61% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 19.3% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Bell County scores 53 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #899 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Bell County. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Bell County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Bell County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Bell County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.