Kentucky Counties by Population (2024)

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120 counties

County
2024 Pop.
Change (2020)
Area (mi²)
Density (/mi²)
Location
Jefferson County771,193-1.49%1472,024Jefferson County location
Fayette County320,027-0.81%1101,127Fayette County location
Kenton County172,3621.83%621,077Kenton County location
Warren County144,4126.95%209266Warren County location
Boone County141,9474.01%95577Boone County location
Hardin County112,8031.78%241181Hardin County location
Daviess County103,7270.31%177226Daviess County location
Madison County98,3195.73%169224Madison County location
Campbell County94,1321.08%58623Campbell County location
Bullitt County85,9524.35%115289Bullitt County location
Christian County71,778-1.35%277100Christian County location
Oldham County70,9224.77%72379Oldham County location
McCracken County67,490-0.63%96271McCracken County location
Pulaski County66,6152.3%254101Pulaski County location
Laurel County63,7131.57%168147Laurel County location
Scott County61,2596.48%109217Scott County location
Jessamine County55,7985.23%66324Jessamine County location
Pike County55,629-4.81%30371Pike County location
Franklin County51,7400.28%80249Franklin County location
Shelby County50,1884.03%147132Shelby County location
Nelson County48,1012.83%162115Nelson County location
Boyd County47,593-1.27%62297Boyd County location
Barren County45,1441.44%18893Barren County location
Hopkins County44,932-0.96%20983Hopkins County location
Henderson County44,206-1.06%168101Henderson County location
Calloway County38,4672.32%149100Calloway County location
Clark County37,6161.57%97149Clark County location
Whitley County36,7420.12%16984Whitley County location
Graves County36,429-0.27%21366Graves County location
Greenup County35,067-2.26%133102Greenup County location
Floyd County33,928-5.22%15286Floyd County location
Marshall County31,6980.02%117105Marshall County location
Boyle County31,1251.21%69173Boyle County location
Muhlenberg County30,440-1.47%18065Muhlenberg County location
Meade County30,2520.75%11899Meade County location
Knox County29,815-1.23%14977Knox County location
Logan County28,7104.35%21352Logan County location
Montgomery County28,6972.08%76146Montgomery County location
Woodford County27,4832.15%73145Woodford County location
Grayson County27,0072.07%19354Grayson County location
Perry County26,899-5.18%13179Perry County location
Taylor County26,4901.88%103100Taylor County location
Carter County26,389-0.83%15865Carter County location
Grant County25,7642.99%100100Grant County location
Lincoln County25,1333.62%12975Lincoln County location
Harlan County24,996-6.57%18054Harlan County location
Anderson County24,9534.48%78124Anderson County location
Rowan County24,446-1.12%10887Rowan County location
Ohio County23,7560.04%22740Ohio County location
Mercer County23,2942.82%9694Mercer County location
Bell County23,023-4.01%13964Bell County location
Allen County22,2938.36%13365Allen County location
Johnson County21,997-2.87%10184Johnson County location
Breckinridge County21,2874.11%22037Breckinridge County location
Spencer County20,8506.86%72111Spencer County location
Simpson County20,4424.12%9087Simpson County location
Bourbon County20,159-0.63%11270Bourbon County location
Letcher County20,019-6.74%13059Letcher County location
Marion County19,9201.67%13358Marion County location
Hart County19,8542.92%15948Hart County location
Harrison County19,7255.37%11864Harrison County location
Wayne County19,526-0.07%17743Wayne County location
Adair County19,4312.9%15648Adair County location
Clay County19,422-4.38%18141Clay County location
Russell County18,3732.06%9873Russell County location
Garrard County18,0926.66%8979Garrard County location
McCreary County17,3172.83%16541McCreary County location
Mason County16,779-2.07%9370Mason County location
Henry County16,1863.11%11057Henry County location
Rockcastle County16,1550.6%12251Rockcastle County location
Casey County15,9250.04%17136Casey County location
Lawrence County15,903-2.45%16138Lawrence County location
Fleming County15,6063.34%13545Fleming County location
Larue County15,4563.92%10159Larue County location
Pendleton County14,9171.84%10754Pendleton County location
Morgan County14,4204.99%14738Morgan County location
Trigg County14,3902.22%17033Trigg County location
Estill County13,848-2.21%9855Estill County location
Knott County13,471-4.85%13638Knott County location
Jackson County13,2191.97%13338Jackson County location
Bath County13,1223.19%10747Bath County location
Union County13,108-3.98%13238Union County location
Lewis County13,009-0.6%18627Lewis County location
Powell County12,903-1.45%6972Powell County location
Webster County12,713-2.34%12838Webster County location
Edmonson County12,5943.64%11742Edmonson County location
Todd County12,5942.49%14534Todd County location
Breathitt County12,548-8.36%19026Breathitt County location
Caldwell County12,494-1.12%13336Caldwell County location
Washington County12,4743.58%11542Washington County location
Butler County12,3850.56%16429Butler County location
Green County11,5443.7%11040Green County location
Owen County11,3320.27%13532Owen County location
Monroe County11,259-0.53%12734Monroe County location
Magoffin County11,108-4.27%11936Magoffin County location
Carroll County11,0351.94%5086Carroll County location
Martin County10,760-4.38%8947Martin County location
Metcalfe County10,5562.6%11236Metcalfe County location
Leslie County9,679-7.54%15524Leslie County location
Lyon County9,2756.87%8343Lyon County location
Clinton County9,157-0.81%7646Clinton County location
McLean County9,001-1.48%9836McLean County location
Crittenden County8,957-0.51%13925Crittenden County location
Livingston County8,816-0.62%12128Livingston County location
Hancock County8,813-3.16%7347Hancock County location
Gallatin County8,8111.59%3890Gallatin County location
Trimble County8,6872.68%5759Trimble County location
Bracken County8,4170.2%7841Bracken County location
Nicholas County7,5860.6%7539Nicholas County location
Ballard County7,522-2.48%9530Ballard County location
Lee County7,313-0.75%8135Lee County location
Elliott County7,198-1.85%9031Elliott County location
Menifee County6,3363.09%7931Menifee County location
Fulton County6,305-3.16%8031Fulton County location
Wolfe County6,148-6.27%8628Wolfe County location
Cumberland County6,0312.99%11820Cumberland County location
Carlisle County4,689-2.45%7325Carlisle County location
Hickman County4,460-1.52%9318Hickman County location
Owsley County4,0440.3%7621Owsley County location
Robertson County2,3798.93%3924Robertson County location

There are 120 counties in Kentucky. In 2019, the most populous county located in the state of Kentucky is Jefferson County, home to the city of Louisville, which has a population that’s grown to 770,517 since the last census was taken in 2010. Jefferson County has experienced a growth rate of 3.84%. Other large counties in state of Kentucky include Fayette County (323,780) with the city of Lexington, Kenton County (166,051) with the city of Covington and part of the Cincinnati metro area, Boone County (131,533), Warren County (131,264), Hardin County (110,356), and Daviess County (101,104). Of these counties, Warren County had the most rapid growth of 14.82%.

Kentucky Counties with the Fewest Residents

The county with the lowest population in the state of Kentucky is Robertson County, which has a population of 2,315. Since the last census in 2010, Robertson County has had a growth rate of -6.15%. Following Robertson County, other very small counties in Kentucky are Hickman County (4,421), Owsley County (4,472), and Carlisle County (4,771). All of these counties have experienced a decline in population, the greatest of which occurred in Hickman County with a growth rate of -9.01%.

Kentucky Counties with Rapid Growth

The county with the most rapid growth in Kentucky is Scott County, which has seen a population growth of 18.51% since the 2010 census, bringing the population up to 56,051 in 2019. Following Scott County are Warren County (14.82%), Shelby County (14.79%), and Jessamine County (10.75%). Martin County has the highest population decrease with a loss of 12.31% of its residents.

52 states and territories

State
Counties
Texas254
Georgia159
Virginia133
Kentucky120
Missouri115
Kansas105
Illinois102
North Carolina100
Iowa99
Tennessee95
Nebraska93
Indiana92
Ohio88
Minnesota87
Michigan83
Mississippi82
Puerto Rico78
Oklahoma77
Arkansas75
Wisconsin72
Alabama67
Florida67
Pennsylvania67
South Dakota66
Colorado64
Louisiana64
New York62
California58
Montana56
West Virginia55
North Dakota53
South Carolina46
Idaho44
Washington39
Oregon36
New Mexico33
Alaska30
Utah29
Maryland24
Wyoming23
New Jersey21
Nevada17
Maine16
Arizona15
Massachusetts14
Vermont14
New Hampshire10
Connecticut9
Hawaii5
Rhode Island5
Delaware3
District of Columbia1
  1. Kentucky State Data Center
  2. US Census State Population Estimates - Most recent state estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  3. US Census County Population Estimates - Most recent county estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  4. American Community Survey (2009 - 2013)
  5. Census QuickFacts
  6. Historical Populations of States and Counties (1790 - 1990)

Sources