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Kentucky has a significant older-adult population that continues to create demand for personal assistance, companionship, respite, homemaker services, and other forms of non-medical home care.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, approximately 1,124,085 Kentucky residents were age 60 or older, representing about 24.5% of the state's population. Approximately 825,850 Kentuckians were age 65 or older, representing 18.0% of the population. 

Kentucky's aging population is also expected to continue growing. The state's 2025–2027 State Plan on Aging projects that the population age 60+ will increase 11.4% between 2020 and 2030. Particularly notable is the projected 39.2% increase among residents ages 75–84 and 28.9% increase among those age 85 and older. 

That growing concentration of older adults creates a long-term need for services that allow seniors to remain independent and supported in their own homes.

Chronic health conditions can increase the need for dependable assistance with everyday activities among older adults and individuals who want to continue living at home. The Kentucky Department for Public Health's 2025 Diabetes Report estimates that 13.65% of Kentucky adults, or approximately 482,200 people, are living with diagnosed diabetes. Among Kentuckians age 65 and older, the prevalence rises to approximately 25%. Heart disease was also Kentucky's leading cause of death in 2024, accounting for 11,575 deaths. For individuals managing chronic conditions, non-medical home care can provide valuable assistance with personal care, meal preparation, mobility, light housekeeping, companionship, and other activities of daily living.  

Kentucky has established Home- and Community-Based Services programs designed to help eligible older adults and individuals with disabilities continue living in their homes and communities rather than institutional settings.

Kentucky Medicaid operates several 1915(c) Home- and Community-Based Services waiver programs. Services can include personal care, respite, attendant care, home-delivered meals, adult day health services, and other supports depending on the applicable waiver. 

Kentucky's Home and Community Based Waiver specifically serves eligible individuals who are age 65 or older or have a physical disability and meet nursing-facility level-of-care and Medicaid requirements. The program is designed to help individuals remain as independent as possible in their communities. 

For home care businesses, this broader emphasis on community-based care supports an environment where families increasingly understand and seek services delivered in the home.

Kentucky offers opportunities for home care businesses across metropolitan, suburban, and community-based markets. From Louisville and Lexington to Northern Kentucky, Bowling Green, Owensboro, Elizabethtown, and communities throughout the Commonwealth, the state's substantial senior population creates opportunities for locally operated home care services. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Kentucky's population increased from approximately 4.59 million residents in 2024 to 4.61 million in 2025, an increase of roughly 18,500 residents in one year. As Kentucky's population continues to age, dependable home-based care is expected to remain an important resource for families throughout the state.  

Helping older Kentuckians remain in their homes is an established priority within the state's aging-services system. Kentucky's Homecare Program is specifically designed to help adults who are at risk of institutional care remain in their own homes, and the program is offered statewide through Kentucky's Area Agencies on Aging and Independent Living. Kentucky's Home and Community Based Waiver similarly provides services to adults age 65 and older and individuals with physical disabilities to help them live in the community as independently as possible. EmmUcare's non-medical services align with this approach by providing personalized assistance that can help clients maintain their routines, dignity, independence, and connection to their communities.  

Kentucky offers several characteristics that can make it an attractive market for franchise ownership:

• Strong Economic Development Activity: Kentucky ranked among the top five states nationally for economic development projects per capita in Site Selection magazine's 2025 Governor's Cup rankings, continuing a top-five placement for the sixth consecutive year.  
• Continued Business Investment: Kentucky recorded approximately $10.5 billion in announced private-sector investment in 2025, the state's second-highest year on record, with 185 new-location and expansion announcements expected to create nearly 9,600 full-time jobs.  
• Growing Aging-Care Needs: Kentucky's State Plan on Aging projects that the state's population age 60 and older will grow approximately 11.4% between 2020 and 2030, including projected growth of 39.2% among residents ages 75–84, reinforcing the long-term importance of businesses serving older adults. 

Becoming an EmmUcare Home Health franchise owner means building your business with an established brand, structured systems, and an experienced support team behind you. Franchisees receive comprehensive initial training, operational guidance, recruiting and onboarding resources, marketing support, technology resources, and ongoing assistance designed to help them launch, operate, and grow their local business.

EmmUcare's Care Centered Around You philosophy provides franchise owners with a recognizable mission focused on compassionate, personalized support and helping individuals maintain independence in the comfort of their homes.

With more than 1.12 million Kentucky residents age 60 or older, approximately 825,850 residents age 65+, and a statewide network of home- and community-based programs designed to help older adults remain safely in their homes and communities, an EmmUcare franchise offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to build a meaningful local business while benefiting from the resources, structure, and support of an established home care brand.