Kentucky · county 21237

Wolfe County, Kentucky: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Wolfe County — people, schools, health, drinking water, bridges, disaster risk, the jail, federal grants and how to vote — each with its source. A full County Commons site (the budget line by line, your tax bill, audits, local offices) isn't built for Wolfe County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

6,364 people (2024 Census estimate, −2.9% since 2020)
222 square miles of land · 29 people per square mile

How Wolfe County compares — against the other counties in Kentucky

“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.

Drinking water — public water systems serving Wolfe County

1 active community water system list Wolfe County in the area they serve, reporting 6,600 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

CAMPTON WATER SYSTEM
surface water · local government · KY1190061
6,600 served

Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.

The jail — people held in the county jail

About 21 people were held in Wolfe County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 549 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 66.

Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.

Public schools — district budgets, fiscal 2023

1 school district has its office in Wolfe County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

WOLFE CO SCH DIST1,150 students

Spent $21.4 million — $20.5 million to run schools, about $17,855 per student, plus $367,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.3 million local (mostly property tax), $14.9 million state, $4.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $4.1 million.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.

Health, money and internet at home — Wolfe County beside Kentucky

Life expectancy65.5 years · Kentucky 73.3 years
Adults under 65 without health insurance7.6% · Kentucky 6.6%
Children in poverty39.5% · Kentucky 20.2%
Households without enough food (food insecurity)27.3% · Kentucky 15.7%
Households with broadband internet79.7% · Kentucky 87.2%
Households with severe housing problems13.6% · Kentucky 12.9%
Drug overdose deaths per 100,00099.9 · Kentucky 49.9
Residents per primary care doctor3,254 · Kentucky 1,601
Residents per mental health provider449 · Kentucky 320
Unemployment6.3% · Kentucky 4.2%
Median household income$40,949 · Kentucky $61,099

Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.

Disaster risk — FEMA's National Risk Index

Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Wolfe County about $3.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.

The costliest hazards here

River and inland flooding$2.9 million a year · Relatively Low
Cold wave$193,491 a year · Relatively Low
Strong wind$179,290 a year · Relatively Low
Tornado$146,678 a year · Very Low
Hail$106,202 a year · Relatively Low

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.

Bridges — condition of every public bridge, 2025

81 bridges in Wolfe County: 49 in good condition, 29 fair, and 3 poor (3.7%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.

Busiest bridges rated poor

KY-1812
over BETTS BRANCH · built 1927
114 vehicles a day
KY-1812
over ROCKHOUSE FORK · built 1927
114 vehicles a day
CAVE BRANCH RD
over HOLLY CREEK · built 1970
73 vehicles a day

Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.

Federal grants — the money that came in, and what's open now

Federal grants paid for $43,349 of work in Wolfe County in fiscal 2025, about $7 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.

Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.

Open now: federal grants county governments can apply for

F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026
Fish and Wildlife Service · F26AS00062
closes 2026-10-13
OVC FY 2026 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking
Office for Victims of Crime · O-OVC-2026-172699
closes 2026-10-14
BJA FY 2026 Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Program
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172661
closes 2026-10-15
FY26 Bureau of Land Management Youth Conservation Corps - Bureau wide
Bureau of Land Management · L26AS00064
closes 2026-10-16
FY 2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) FAA Contract Tower (FCT) Competitive Grant Program
Airport Improvement Program Discretionary Grants · DOT-FAA-26-0117-002
closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Service Area Competition (SAC)
Health Resources and Services Administration · HRSA-27-005
closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Competition
AmeriCorps · AC-08-20-2026
closes 2026-10-20
DOJ FY 2026 Assisting Neighborhoods and Governments with Enforcement of Laws (ANGEL) Grant Program
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172778
closes 2026-10-20
Long-term health outcomes of people living with spina bifida
Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD · CDC-RFA-DD-26-0222
closes 2026-10-26
OJJDP FY 2026 Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program
Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention · O-OJJDP-2026-172741
closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Veterans Treatment Court Program
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172714
closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172708
closes 2026-10-29

From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.

Voting

Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Kentucky are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.

Not here yet

The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Wolfe County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Wolfe County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

More of Kentucky: the state government and every county in Kentucky.

Nearby counties: Menifee County (14 mi) · Lee County (15 mi) · Morgan County (18 mi) · Breathitt County (18 mi) · Powell County (19 mi) · Magoffin County (23 mi).