Originally appeared in The News-Enterprise | Dec 28, 2024
A recent report from Kentucky Demographics shows the average income in Hardin County ranks as the 14th highest in the state.
Even though the county ranks sixth in population, local officials were not surprised that wages are higher elsewhere. They also note the increase for wages bodes well for the future locally.
“If you look at most of the areas ahead of us (including Oldham, Boone, Jessamine Spencer, Campbell, Scott, Shelby, Fayette and Jefferson counties), they are all in the Golden Triangle,” said Daniel London, the executive director of the Lincoln Trail Area Development District. “That’s the line from Northern Kentucky and Lexington and Louisville and they have more high-tech and more high-paying jobs. If you look at Hardin County, we are still a little more rural with a large farm economy which is going to hold those wages down a little bit.”
Some of those communities also have benefited because of the migration from the more urban areas.
“We are just now having the influx of people coming in that other counties have seen over their history,” London said. “There has been a talent flight from some of those areas and their new communities are benefitting from those higher wages.”
London noted the addition of BlueOval SK in Hardin County as well as the announcement of a battery plant in Warren County should help local wages.
“Something I talk about a lot when I’m out giving speeches is that you’re going to see this I-65 corridor stretch that Golden Triangle in future years down this way,” London said. “I don’t know what the shape is going to end up being, but it’s going to be closer to a rectangle than a triangle.”
Andy Games, president and chief operating officer of the Elizabethtown-Hardin Industrial Foundation, said wages have increased over the past few years as a result of the pandemic and the announcement of BlueOval SK.
When he started his work at the foundation, the pay scale in Hardin County ranged from $14 to $16 an hour in many plants. It now is up to $17 to $20 per hour.
Games expects that number to continue to rise.
BlueOval SK recently announced an across the board increase of $3 to $4 per hour for its production and maintenance employees. That will get them to a pay rate into the mid $20 per hour range. The pay at BlueOval SK also impacts the entire market.
“I think you’re seeing most of these companies that have those employees they really want to keep, they will have to be aggressive and pay them more,” Games said. “You want to try to keep them from looking elsewhere.”
He also expects companies to take a closer look at their benefits packages. Games and London are on a local task force to look at how companies use amenities such as child care incentives to attract and/or keep employees. Child care is not at the crisis stage, but it is becoming more and more of an issue.
“We’re trying to be proactive and try to lead the way to figure out how to help,” Games said. “We have to try to find a way to make it more affordable for an employee, and trying to get companies to either offer childcare, or help out with childcare.”
One option, he noted, was to offer an employee a buffet-style of benefits.
“You may have an employee that you hire on and they may take the child care benefit because they have a kid who is going to need child care,” Games said. “But a few years down the road, they come back and want to change that and increase their retirement benefits.”
By the numbers
According to the report, the average income in Hardin County is $92,718. That is figured by taking the total income in the county divided by the number of wage earners. The median income is $67,608. That is breaking down each income and finding the number in the center.
There are 55,310 workers in the local labor force.
Hardin County has moved from a blue collar (34%) to a white collar (65%) dominated workforce. London said that change occurred in the past few years.
“I would think it was more like 50/50 just before COVID,” he said. “We’ve seen a significant increase in Baptist Health’s presence here. There has been growth at Fort Knox with the expansion of missions that are civilian-based and high-paying jobs. Many of those folks have located here permanently. In the last year and a half, you’ve seen a large influx of BlueOval SK employees who are almost all white collar.”
The largest job count by occupation include office and administrative support accounting for 5,217 workers or 13.7%, sales with 4,151 employees or 10.91% and executives, manager and administrators consisting of 4,031 of the Hardin County workforce or 10.59%.
Dennis George can be reached at dgeorge@lebanonenterprise.com or at 502-233-1767.