Find a Job You Really Want In
At Zippia, we are dedicated to exploring job opportunities across the nation, identifying both the best and most challenging places for employment.
In this article, we focus on the cities in Kentucky that present the most difficulties for job seekers in 2026, following our previous analysis of the state’s most favorable job markets.
These cities have struggled to provide the necessary growth and opportunities that many job seekers aspire to attain.
After analyzing data from the 100 largest cities in Kentucky, we found that the ten most challenging cities for job seekers are:
- Pikeville
- Monticello
- Middlesborough
- Somerset
- Williamsburg
- Mayfield
- Murray
- Corbin
- Central City
- Morehead
Continue reading to discover how we arrived at this conclusion.
For further reading on Kentucky’s job market, check out:
How We Identified the Most Challenging Job Markets in Kentucky
Our analysis focused on cities in Kentucky with populations exceeding 5,000, resulting in a review of 100 cities.
Each city was evaluated across various criteria, with rankings from 1 (most challenging) to 100.
The final score was determined by averaging the ranks across all criteria, with the city that received the lowest overall score designated as the “Most Challenging City for Job Seekers in Kentucky.”
The criteria we considered included:
1. Pikeville
Population: 6,864
Recent Job Growth: -3.01%
Future Job Growth: 22.70%
2. Monticello
Population: 6,197
Recent Job Growth: -2.06%
Future Job Growth: 24.50%
3. Middlesborough
Population: 10,235
Recent Job Growth: -1.57%
Future Job Growth: 23.80%
4. Somerset
Population: 11,254
Recent Job Growth: -2.39%
Future Job Growth: 26.80%
5. Williamsburg
Population: 5,258
Recent Job Growth: -2.27%
Future Job Growth: 26.40%
6. Mayfield
Population: 10,048
Recent Job Growth: -2.27%
Future Job Growth: 27.00%
7. Murray
Population: 17,706
Recent Job Growth: -7.43%
Future Job Growth: 17.80%
8. Corbin
Population: 7,010
Recent Job Growth: -2.27%
Future Job Growth: 26.40%
9. Central City
Population: 5,955
Recent Job Growth: -4.98%
Future Job Growth: 21.40%
10. Morehead
Population: 6,898
Recent Job Growth: -3.70%
Future Job Growth: 25.70%
Conclusion: Navigating Kentucky’s Job Landscape
After analyzing the data, Pikeville emerged as the most challenging city for job seekers in Kentucky.
Despite overall economic improvements and increasing job opportunities across the state, these cities continue to struggle in keeping pace.
It is hoped that these areas will find ways to revitalize their job markets and provide better opportunities for their residents.
Detailed List of Challenging Cities for Job Seekers in Kentucky
| City | Rank |
|---|---|
| Pikeville | 1 |
| Monticello | 2 |
| Middlesborough | 3 |
| Somerset | 4 |
| Williamsburg | 5 |
| Mayfield | 6 |
| Murray | 7 |
| Corbin | 8 |
| Central City | 9 |
| Morehead | 10 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
