Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature

Marshall County had the highest average annual temperature of 120 counties in 2016, at 60.4 °F. Harlan County had the lowest, at 55 °F. The median was 57.5 °F and the figure for Kentucky was 57.9 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Highest60.4Marshall County

Lowest55Harlan County

Median57.5120 counties

Kentucky57.9History

Map of counties, 2016

Under 57
57 to 58
58 to 59
59 and over

°F, 2016. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2016

°F. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2016 °F	Change on 2015
1	Marshall County	60.4	+2.9%
2	Calloway County	60.3	+2.7%
2	Fulton County	60.3	+2.9%
4	Carlisle County	60.2	+2.6%
4	Graves County	60.2	+2.7%
6	Hickman County	60.1	+2.7%
6	McCracken County	60.1	+2.4%
8	Warren County	60	+2.2%
9	Ballard County	59.9	+2.4%
10	Logan County	59.8	+2.4%
10	Simpson County	59.8	+2.2%
10	Todd County	59.8	+2.6%
10	Trigg County	59.8	+2.6%
14	Lyon County	59.7	+2.9%
15	Butler County	59.6	+2.8%
15	Christian County	59.6	+2.4%
15	Livingston County	59.6	+2.8%
18	Allen County	59.5	+1.7%
18	Edmonson County	59.5	+2.4%
20	Barren County	59.3	+2.1%
20	Cumberland County	59.3	+2.4%
20	Muhlenberg County	59.3	+2.6%
23	Hopkins County	59.2	+2.4%
24	Caldwell County	59.1	+2.6%
24	Ohio County	59.1	+2.6%
26	Crittenden County	59	+2.8%
26	McLean County	59	+2.4%
26	Monroe County	59	+2.1%
26	Webster County	59	+2.8%
30	Grayson County	58.8	+2.6%
30	Hart County	58.8	+2.4%
30	Union County	58.8	+2.8%
33	Clinton County	58.7	+2.1%
34	Henderson County	58.6	+2.3%
35	Green County	58.4	+2.6%
35	Metcalfe County	58.4	+2.5%
37	Daviess County	58.3	+1.6%
37	Jefferson County	58.3	+2.5%
39	Bullitt County	58.2	+2.1%
40	Adair County	58.1	+2.7%
41	Breckinridge County	58	+1.6%
41	Hardin County	58	+2.3%
41	Russell County	58	+2.3%
44	Larue County	57.9	+2.3%
44	Martin County	57.9	+1.8%
44	Nelson County	57.9	+2.3%
44	Wayne County	57.9	+2.1%
48	Carroll County	57.8	+4.1%
48	Floyd County	57.8	+1.6%
48	Pike County	57.8	+1.4%
51	Breathitt County	57.7	+2.1%
51	Owsley County	57.7	+1.9%
51	Spencer County	57.7	+2.5%
51	Taylor County	57.7	+2.5%
55	Franklin County	57.6	+3.4%
55	Gallatin County	57.6	+4.2%
55	Hancock County	57.6	+0.5%
55	Marion County	57.6	+2.3%
55	Meade County	57.6	+1.8%
60	Anderson County	57.5	+2.9%
60	Clay County	57.5	+1.4%
60	Lee County	57.5	+2.1%
60	Washington County	57.5	+2.5%
60	Woodford County	57.5	+3%
65	Estill County	57.4	+2.5%
65	Henry County	57.4	+3.6%
65	Jessamine County	57.4	+2.9%
65	Knox County	57.4	+1.1%
65	McCreary County	57.4	+1.8%
65	Mercer County	57.4	+2.7%
65	Oldham County	57.4	+3.1%
65	Owen County	57.4	+3.8%
65	Trimble County	57.4	+3.6%
65	Whitley County	57.4	+1.2%
75	Johnson County	57.3	+2.1%
75	Madison County	57.3	+2.7%
75	Perry County	57.3	+2%
78	Fayette County	57.2	+3.2%
78	Garrard County	57.2	+2.7%
78	Laurel County	57.2	+1.2%
78	Lawrence County	57.2	+2.5%
78	Magoffin County	57.2	+2.1%
78	Pulaski County	57.2	+2.3%
78	Scott County	57.2	+3.4%
78	Shelby County	57.2	+2.9%
86	Boyd County	57.1	+2.9%
86	Knott County	57.1	+1.8%
88	Boyle County	57	+2.5%
88	Clark County	57	+2.7%
88	Powell County	57	+2.3%
91	Casey County	56.9	+2.5%
91	Grant County	56.9	+3.6%
91	Harrison County	56.9	+3.3%
91	Leslie County	56.9	+1.8%
91	Wolfe County	56.9	+2.2%
96	Bourbon County	56.8	+2.9%
97	Lincoln County	56.7	+2.5%
97	Pendleton County	56.7	+3.3%
99	Jackson County	56.6	+2%
99	Montgomery County	56.6	+2.5%
99	Rockcastle County	56.6	+2.2%
102	Boone County	56.5	+3.5%
102	Morgan County	56.5	+2.2%
102	Robertson County	56.5	+3.1%
105	Greenup County	56.4	+2.7%
105	Nicholas County	56.4	+2.7%
107	Bath County	56.3	+2.4%
107	Bracken County	56.3	+3.1%
109	Bell County	56.2	+1.3%
109	Campbell County	56.2	+2.9%
109	Kenton County	56.2	+3.1%
109	Menifee County	56.2	+2.2%
113	Carter County	56.1	+2.7%
113	Elliott County	56.1	+2.4%
113	Letcher County	56.1	+1.3%
116	Mason County	56	+2.8%
117	Fleming County	55.9	+2.6%
118	Lewis County	55.8	+2.8%
119	Rowan County	55.5	+2.4%
120	Harlan County	55	+1.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Mean air temperature from January to December, in degrees Fahrenheit: the average of the 12 monthly mean temperatures. 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, so a county with mountains and valleys has one value for very different local climates. 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 average temperature, 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 average temperature, counties (Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature, 2016) [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 average temperature, counties, Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature, 2016. 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/average-annual-temperature/kentucky-counties?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature, 2016. 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/average-annual-temperature/kentucky-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties, Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/kentucky-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{noaa_counties_in_kentucky_by_2016,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties: Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature, 2016}},
  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/average-annual-temperature/kentucky-counties?period=2016. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, 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 average temperature, counties: Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature, 2016
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/average-annual-temperature/kentucky-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/kentucky-counties?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, 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  -

Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Embed code

<iframe src="https://invokely.ai/embed/rankings/average-annual-temperature/kentucky-counties?period=2016" width="760" height="500" title="Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature, 2016, chart from Invokely" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"average_temperature_annual","level":"province","within":"Kentucky","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=average_temperature_annual&level=province&within=Kentucky&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest average annual temperature?

Marshall County, with 60.4 °F in 2016, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?

Harlan County, with 55 °F in 2016.

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 average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.