Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature

Fulton County had the highest average annual temperature of 120 counties in 2020, at 59.1 °F. Harlan County had the lowest, at 54.5 °F. The median was 56.9 °F and the figure for Kentucky was 57.1 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Highest59.1Fulton County

Lowest54.5Harlan County

Median56.9120 counties

Kentucky57.1History

Map of counties, 2020

Under 56
56 to 57
57 to 58
58 and over

°F, 2020. 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, 2020

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2020 °F	Change on 2019
1	Fulton County	59.1	+0.2%
2	Ballard County	59	+0.5%
2	Carlisle County	59	+0.2%
2	McCracken County	59	+0.3%
5	Hickman County	58.9	+0.2%
6	Christian County	58.8	-1.2%
6	Cumberland County	58.8	-1.3%
6	Warren County	58.8	-0.5%
9	Graves County	58.7	-0.2%
9	Marshall County	58.7	-0.3%
9	Trigg County	58.7	-0.7%
12	Calloway County	58.6	-0.5%
12	Simpson County	58.6	-0.7%
12	Todd County	58.6	-1%
15	Clinton County	58.5	-1.5%
15	Hopkins County	58.5	-0.5%
17	Allen County	58.4	-0.7%
17	Logan County	58.4	-0.5%
19	Muhlenberg County	58.3	-0.2%
20	Butler County	58.2	-0.3%
20	Edmonson County	58.2	-0.5%
20	Lyon County	58.2	-0.5%
23	Adair County	58.1	-1.4%
23	Barren County	58.1	-0.5%
23	Livingston County	58.1	-0.2%
23	McLean County	58.1	0%
23	Russell County	58.1	-1.7%
28	Caldwell County	57.9	-0.9%
28	Green County	57.9	-0.9%
28	Monroe County	57.9	-1%
28	Wayne County	57.9	-1.9%
28	Webster County	57.9	0%
33	Crittenden County	57.7	-0.2%
33	Hart County	57.7	-0.5%
33	Metcalfe County	57.7	-0.9%
36	Breathitt County	57.5	0%
36	Floyd County	57.5	-0.7%
36	Ohio County	57.5	-0.3%
36	Owsley County	57.5	-0.2%
36	Union County	57.5	+0.5%
41	Henderson County	57.4	+0.3%
41	Jefferson County	57.4	-0.5%
43	Martin County	57.3	-0.9%
43	Pulaski County	57.3	-1.9%
43	Taylor County	57.3	-1%
46	Bullitt County	57.2	-0.5%
46	Clay County	57.2	-0.7%
46	Grayson County	57.2	-0.7%
46	Lee County	57.2	-0.3%
46	Pike County	57.2	-1%
51	Daviess County	57.1	-0.2%
51	McCreary County	57.1	-1.7%
53	Estill County	57	-0.5%
53	Franklin County	57	-0.5%
53	Laurel County	57	-1.2%
53	Perry County	57	-0.3%
53	Whitley County	57	-1.4%
58	Johnson County	56.9	-0.7%
58	Knox County	56.9	-1.2%
58	Larue County	56.9	-0.4%
58	Magoffin County	56.9	-0.4%
58	Marion County	56.9	-0.5%
58	Nelson County	56.9	-0.5%
64	Carroll County	56.8	-0.2%
64	Casey County	56.8	-1.4%
64	Knott County	56.8	-0.5%
64	Madison County	56.8	-0.9%
64	Spencer County	56.8	-0.7%
69	Anderson County	56.7	-0.7%
69	Gallatin County	56.7	-0.2%
69	Garrard County	56.7	-0.7%
69	Hardin County	56.7	-0.5%
69	Woodford County	56.7	-0.9%
74	Henry County	56.6	-0.5%
74	Jessamine County	56.6	-0.9%
74	Lawrence County	56.6	-0.7%
74	Mercer County	56.6	-0.5%
74	Owen County	56.6	-0.4%
74	Rockcastle County	56.6	-1.2%
74	Washington County	56.6	-0.5%
81	Jackson County	56.5	-0.7%
81	Leslie County	56.5	-0.7%
81	Oldham County	56.5	-0.7%
81	Powell County	56.5	-0.5%
81	Wolfe County	56.5	-0.4%
86	Boyd County	56.4	-0.7%
86	Lincoln County	56.4	-1.1%
86	Scott County	56.4	-0.4%
86	Shelby County	56.4	-0.7%
86	Trimble County	56.4	-0.4%
91	Boyle County	56.3	-0.5%
91	Breckinridge County	56.3	-0.7%
91	Clark County	56.3	-0.7%
91	Fayette County	56.3	-0.7%
95	Grant County	56.2	-0.2%
95	Meade County	56.2	-0.5%
97	Hancock County	56.1	-0.5%
97	Harrison County	56.1	0%
97	Morgan County	56.1	-0.4%
97	Pendleton County	56.1	0%
101	Bourbon County	56	-0.4%
101	Montgomery County	56	-0.5%
103	Boone County	55.9	0%
103	Campbell County	55.9	0%
105	Greenup County	55.8	-0.5%
105	Kenton County	55.8	0%
107	Bath County	55.7	-0.5%
107	Menifee County	55.7	-0.4%
107	Nicholas County	55.7	-0.2%
107	Robertson County	55.7	+0.2%
111	Bracken County	55.6	+0.2%
111	Elliott County	55.6	-0.5%
111	Letcher County	55.6	-1.2%
114	Bell County	55.5	-1.2%
114	Carter County	55.5	-0.5%
116	Fleming County	55.3	-0.2%
116	Mason County	55.3	+0.2%
118	Lewis County	55.2	0%
119	Rowan County	55	-0.4%
120	Harlan County	54.5	-1.1%

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, 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 average temperature, counties, Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/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 average temperature, counties. Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/kentucky-counties?period=2020.

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, 2020 [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=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 average temperature, counties: Counties in Kentucky by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/kentucky-counties?period=2020. 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, 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/average-annual-temperature/kentucky-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/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 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  -

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Questions

Which county has the highest average annual temperature?

Fulton County, with 59.1 °F in 2020, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?

Harlan County, with 54.5 °F 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 average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.