Airbnb hosts in this rural, eastern Kentucky county raked in $5M in earnings last year

Emerging from the lockdowns and social distancing rules that defined the earlier years of the pandemic, most Americans say they have plans to travel in 2022, a recent NerdWallet study indicates.

New data from short-term rental company Airbnb also shows many thousands of towns across the country have welcomed their first guests since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2021, domestic nights booked by U.S. guests on Airbnb for stays in rural parts of the country jumped by 110% compared to 2019, the platform reported earlier this month. Meanwhile, hosts in rural counties across the U.S. earned a combined $3.5 billion over the course of last year.

We reached out to an Airbnb representative for data about how hosts in Kentucky are doing.

As it turns out, hosts in the commonwealth’s rural counties made more than $27 million in 2021, and the typical Airbnb host in rural Kentucky earned more than $10,000 last year.

Powell County, near the Red River Gorge, topped the list at $5 million in earnings.

We also have a breakdown, sourced from Airbnb data, of total host income in each of Kentucky’s rural counties. See the list below:

Rural County

Approximate 2021 Host Earnings

Adair

$180,000

Anderson

$330,000

Ballard

$15,000

Barren

$770,000

Bath

$20,000

Bell

$80,000

Boyle

$390,000

Breathitt

$13,000

Breckinridge

$160,000

Caldwell

$12,000

Calloway

$625,000

Carlisle

$5,000

Carroll

$15,000

Carter

$75,000

Casey

$100,000

Clay

$100,000

Clinton

$135,000

Crittenden

$20,000

Cumberland

$225,000

Estill

$130,000

Fleming

$160,000

Floyd

$50,000

Franklin

$730,000

Fulton

$5,000

Garrard

$200,000

Graves

$20,000

Grayson

$650,000

Green

$40,000

Harlan

$80,000

Harrison

$65,000

Hart

$85,000

Hickman

$15,000

Hopkins

$140,000

Jackson

$275,000

Johnson

$10,000

Knott

$60,000

Knox

$50,000

Laurel

$340,000

Lawrence

$140,000

Lee

$640,000

Leslie

$15,000

Letcher

$225,000

Lewis

$90,000

Lincoln

$130,000

Livingston

$170,000

Logan

$250,000

Lyon

$480,000

Madison

$900,000

Magoffin

$3,000

Marion

$425,000

Marshall

$975,000

Mason

$215,000

McCracken

$1 million

McCreary

$100,000

Menifee

$255,000

Mercer

$300,000

Metcalfe

$30,000

Monroe

$25,000

Montgomery

$80,000

Morgan

$20,000

Muhlenberg

$145,000

Nelson

$1 million

Nicholas

$75,000

Ohio

$15,000

Owen

$80,000

Owsley

$10,000

Perry

$115,000

Pike

$275,000

Powell

$5 million

Pulaski

$2 million

Robertson

$20,000

Rockcastle

$70,000

Rowan

$175,000

Russell

$760,000

Simpson

$85,000

Taylor

$325,000

Todd

$165,000

Trigg

$875,000

Union

$30,000

Washington

$310,000

Wayne

$545,000

Webster

$75,000

Whitley

$115,000

Wolfe

$2 million

Do you have a question about tourism in Kentucky? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out the form below or email ask@herald-leader.com.