Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation

Harlan County had the highest annual precipitation of 120 counties in 2020, at 70.05 inches. Greenup County had the lowest, at 46.78 inches. The median was 56.96 inches and the figure for Kentucky was 58.11 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest70.05Harlan County
Lowest46.78Greenup County
Median56.96120 counties
Kentucky58.11History

Map of counties, 2020

Adair County: 63.65 inchesAllen County: 61.26 inchesAnderson County: 50.91 inchesBallard County: 55.36 inchesBarren County: 61.49 inchesBath County: 59.18 inchesBell County: 68.7 inchesBoone County: 49.59 inchesBourbon County: 53.17 inchesBoyd County: 50.26 inchesBoyle County: 51.91 inchesBracken County: 52.36 inchesBreathitt County: 59.54 inchesBreckinridge County: 56.98 inchesBullitt County: 54.63 inchesButler County: 59.34 inchesCaldwell County: 56.5 inchesCalloway County: 57.77 inchesCampbell County: 50.49 inchesCarlisle County: 57.73 inchesCarroll County: 50.44 inchesCarter County: 50.5 inchesCasey County: 62.08 inchesChristian County: 55.28 inchesClark County: 56.28 inchesClay County: 65.65 inchesClinton County: 68.69 inchesCrittenden County: 57.8 inchesCumberland County: 66.4 inchesDaviess County: 56.58 inchesEdmonson County: 62.48 inchesElliott County: 54.36 inchesEstill County: 61.83 inchesFayette County: 51.49 inchesFleming County: 55.62 inchesFloyd County: 56.6 inchesFranklin County: 50.6 inchesFulton County: 58.93 inchesGallatin County: 50.73 inchesGarrard County: 56.72 inchesGrant County: 50.31 inchesGraves County: 58.61 inchesGrayson County: 60.46 inchesGreen County: 58.09 inchesGreenup County: 46.78 inchesHancock County: 57.27 inchesHardin County: 57.66 inchesHarlan County: 70.05 inchesHarrison County: 51.48 inchesHart County: 60.64 inchesHenderson County: 54.4 inchesHenry County: 51.42 inchesHickman County: 59.11 inchesHopkins County: 53.2 inchesJackson County: 65.74 inchesJefferson County: 54.09 inchesJessamine County: 50.78 inchesJohnson County: 53.69 inchesKenton County: 49.98 inchesKnott County: 59.64 inchesKnox County: 69.59 inchesLarue County: 56.75 inchesLaurel County: 68.63 inchesLawrence County: 52.03 inchesLee County: 61.64 inchesLeslie County: 64.08 inchesLetcher County: 61.87 inchesLewis County: 49.49 inchesLincoln County: 60.6 inchesLivingston County: 57.53 inchesLogan County: 59.98 inchesLyon County: 56.89 inchesMcCracken County: 56.72 inchesMcCreary County: 66.26 inchesMcLean County: 53.29 inchesMadison County: 58.54 inchesMagoffin County: 56.13 inchesMarion County: 54.64 inchesMarshall County: 56.94 inchesMartin County: 57.34 inchesMason County: 51.07 inchesMeade County: 56.8 inchesMenifee County: 61.79 inchesMercer County: 50.33 inchesMetcalfe County: 60.98 inchesMonroe County: 63.31 inchesMontgomery County: 58.61 inchesMorgan County: 57.7 inchesMuhlenberg County: 55.97 inchesNelson County: 53.81 inchesNicholas County: 54.06 inchesOhio County: 57.71 inchesOldham County: 53.82 inchesOwen County: 51.23 inchesOwsley County: 62.28 inchesPendleton County: 51.15 inchesPerry County: 61.31 inchesPike County: 61.81 inchesPowell County: 61.85 inchesPulaski County: 67.9 inchesRobertson County: 52.23 inchesRockcastle County: 68.02 inchesRowan County: 59.91 inchesRussell County: 67.52 inchesScott County: 51.08 inchesShelby County: 52.5 inchesSimpson County: 59.49 inchesSpencer County: 52.6 inchesTaylor County: 58.72 inchesTodd County: 57.84 inchesTrigg County: 55.94 inchesTrimble County: 50.39 inchesUnion County: 55.8 inchesWarren County: 59.82 inchesWashington County: 52.09 inchesWayne County: 66.52 inchesWebster County: 55.08 inchesWhitley County: 69.48 inchesWolfe County: 59.96 inchesWoodford County: 50.28 inches
  • Under 51
  • 51 to 55
  • 55 to 57
  • 57 to 59
  • 59 to 62
  • 62 and over
inches, 2020. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2020

Harlan County: 70.05 inchesHarlan County70.05Knox County: 69.59 inchesKnox County69.59Whitley County: 69.48 inchesWhitley County69.48Bell County: 68.7 inchesBell County68.7Clinton County: 68.69 inchesClinton County68.69Laurel County: 68.63 inchesLaurel County68.63Rockcastle County: 68.02 inchesRockcastle County68.02Pulaski County: 67.9 inchesPulaski County67.9Russell County: 67.52 inchesRussell County67.52Wayne County: 66.52 inchesWayne County66.52Cumberland County: 66.4 inchesCumberland County66.4McCreary County: 66.26 inchesMcCreary County66.26Jackson County: 65.74 inchesJackson County65.74Clay County: 65.65 inchesClay County65.65Leslie County: 64.08 inchesLeslie County64.08Adair County: 63.65 inchesAdair County63.65Monroe County: 63.31 inchesMonroe County63.31Edmonson County: 62.48 inchesEdmonson County62.48Owsley County: 62.28 inchesOwsley County62.28Casey County: 62.08 inchesCasey County62.08Letcher County: 61.87 inchesLetcher County61.87Powell County: 61.85 inchesPowell County61.85Estill County: 61.83 inchesEstill County61.83Pike County: 61.81 inchesPike County61.81Menifee County: 61.79 inchesMenifee County61.79Lee County: 61.64 inchesLee County61.64Barren County: 61.49 inchesBarren County61.49Perry County: 61.31 inchesPerry County61.31Allen County: 61.26 inchesAllen County61.26Metcalfe County: 60.98 inchesMetcalfe County60.98Hart County: 60.64 inchesHart County60.64Lincoln County: 60.6 inchesLincoln County60.6Grayson County: 60.46 inchesGrayson County60.46Logan County: 59.98 inchesLogan County59.98Wolfe County: 59.96 inchesWolfe County59.96Rowan County: 59.91 inchesRowan County59.91Warren County: 59.82 inchesWarren County59.82Knott County: 59.64 inchesKnott County59.64Breathitt County: 59.54 inchesBreathitt County59.54Simpson County: 59.49 inchesSimpson County59.49Harlan County: 70.05 inchesHarlan County70.05Knox County: 69.59 inchesKnox County69.59Whitley County: 69.48 inchesWhitley County69.48Bell County: 68.7 inchesBell County68.7Clinton County: 68.69 inchesClinton County68.69Laurel County: 68.63 inchesLaurel County68.63Rockcastle County: 68.02 inchesRockcastle County68.02Pulaski County: 67.9 inchesPulaski County67.9Russell County: 67.52 inchesRussell County67.52Wayne County: 66.52 inchesWayne County66.52Cumberland County: 66.4 inchesCumberland County66.4McCreary County: 66.26 inchesMcCreary County66.26Jackson County: 65.74 inchesJackson County65.74Clay County: 65.65 inchesClay County65.65Leslie County: 64.08 inchesLeslie County64.08Adair County: 63.65 inchesAdair County63.65Monroe County: 63.31 inchesMonroe County63.31Edmonson County: 62.48 inchesEdmonson County62.48Owsley County: 62.28 inchesOwsley County62.28Casey County: 62.08 inchesCasey County62.08Letcher County: 61.87 inchesLetcher County61.87Powell County: 61.85 inchesPowell County61.85Estill County: 61.83 inchesEstill County61.83Pike County: 61.81 inchesPike County61.81Menifee County: 61.79 inchesMenifee County61.79Lee County: 61.64 inchesLee County61.64Barren County: 61.49 inchesBarren County61.49Perry County: 61.31 inchesPerry County61.31Allen County: 61.26 inchesAllen County61.26Metcalfe County: 60.98 inchesMetcalfe County60.98Hart County: 60.64 inchesHart County60.64Lincoln County: 60.6 inchesLincoln County60.6Grayson County: 60.46 inchesGrayson County60.46Logan County: 59.98 inchesLogan County59.98Wolfe County: 59.96 inchesWolfe County59.96Rowan County: 59.91 inchesRowan County59.91Warren County: 59.82 inchesWarren County59.82Knott County: 59.64 inchesKnott County59.64Breathitt County: 59.54 inchesBreathitt County59.54Simpson County: 59.49 inchesSimpson County59.49
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
inches
Change on 2019
1Harlan County70.05+11.7%
2Knox County69.59+7.2%
3Whitley County69.48+2.7%
4Bell County68.7+2%
5Clinton County68.69-1.1%
6Laurel County68.63+3.9%
7Rockcastle County68.02+5.7%
8Pulaski County67.9+1.6%
9Russell County67.52-3.8%
10Wayne County66.52-3.8%
11Cumberland County66.4-0.2%
12McCreary County66.26-3.7%
13Jackson County65.74+0.2%
14Clay County65.65+1.1%
15Leslie County64.08+6.6%
16Adair County63.65-4.1%
17Monroe County63.31-5.3%
18Edmonson County62.48-4%
19Owsley County62.28-0.7%
20Casey County62.08+0.8%
21Letcher County61.87+15.5%
22Powell County61.85-6.3%
23Estill County61.83-4.9%
24Pike County61.81+9.6%
25Menifee County61.79-3.2%
26Lee County61.64-1.9%
27Barren County61.49-7.9%
28Perry County61.31+8.8%
29Allen County61.26-9.8%
30Metcalfe County60.98-5.1%
31Hart County60.64-2.5%
32Lincoln County60.6+5.2%
33Grayson County60.46-9.2%
34Logan County59.98-7.9%
35Wolfe County59.96+1%
36Rowan County59.91-0.3%
37Warren County59.82-8.4%
38Knott County59.64+11.2%
39Breathitt County59.54+4.3%
40Simpson County59.49-10.5%
41Butler County59.34-9.7%
42Bath County59.18-4.1%
43Hickman County59.11-12.8%
44Fulton County58.93-14%
45Taylor County58.72-3.7%
46Graves County58.61-10%
46Montgomery County58.61-7%
48Madison County58.54-4.1%
49Green County58.09-3.5%
50Todd County57.84-2.7%
51Crittenden County57.8-5.4%
52Calloway County57.77-5.1%
53Carlisle County57.73-13.2%
54Ohio County57.71-11.4%
55Morgan County57.7+1.1%
56Hardin County57.66-10.8%
57Livingston County57.53-8.2%
58Martin County57.34+2.1%
59Hancock County57.27-9.9%
60Breckinridge County56.98-13.5%
61Marshall County56.94-8.7%
62Lyon County56.89-3.9%
63Meade County56.8-8.1%
64Larue County56.75-8.6%
65Garrard County56.72-1.1%
65McCracken County56.72-13.2%
67Floyd County56.6+4.6%
68Daviess County56.58-7.1%
69Caldwell County56.5-2.5%
70Clark County56.28-8.9%
71Magoffin County56.13+3.5%
72Muhlenberg County55.97-12.6%
73Trigg County55.94-4.4%
74Union County55.8+1.7%
75Fleming County55.62-6%
76Ballard County55.36-15%
77Christian County55.28-3.9%
78Webster County55.08-8.6%
79Marion County54.64-8.3%
80Bullitt County54.63-13.3%
81Henderson County54.4-6.5%
82Elliott County54.36-2.9%
83Jefferson County54.09-10.5%
84Nicholas County54.06-8.9%
85Oldham County53.82-11%
86Nelson County53.81-16.3%
87Johnson County53.69-1.5%
88McLean County53.29-9.7%
89Hopkins County53.2-13.3%
90Bourbon County53.17-10%
91Spencer County52.6-19.3%
92Shelby County52.5-17.8%
93Bracken County52.36-4.8%
94Robertson County52.23-9.1%
95Washington County52.09-14.7%
96Lawrence County52.03-4.2%
97Boyle County51.91-3.6%
98Fayette County51.49-12.8%
99Harrison County51.48-12.4%
100Henry County51.42-13.3%
101Owen County51.23-11.8%
102Pendleton County51.15-6.6%
103Scott County51.08-14.7%
104Mason County51.07-8.5%
105Anderson County50.91-18.3%
106Jessamine County50.78-13%
107Gallatin County50.73-8.3%
108Franklin County50.6-17.4%
109Carter County50.5-4.2%
110Campbell County50.49-5.4%
111Carroll County50.44-9%
112Trimble County50.39-9.3%
113Mercer County50.33-13.5%
114Grant County50.31-9.3%
115Woodford County50.28-16.2%
116Boyd County50.26-4.7%
117Kenton County49.98-7.1%
118Boone County49.59-8%
119Lewis County49.49-10.1%
120Greenup County46.78-5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2020. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2020.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_kentucky_by_2020,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2020. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Harlan County, with 70.05 inches in 2020, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Greenup County, with 46.78 inches in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings