Counties in Kentucky by population

Jefferson County had the highest population of 120 counties in 2020, at 782,866. Robertson County had the lowest, at 2,182. The median was 19,522 and the figure for Kentucky was 4.51 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest782,866Jefferson County
Lowest2,182Robertson County
Median19,522120 counties
Kentucky4,508,271History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 782,866 persons782,866Fayette CountyFayette County: 322,620 persons322,620Kenton CountyKenton County: 169,263 persons169,263Boone CountyBoone County: 136,472 persons136,472Warren CountyWarren County: 135,039 persons135,039Hardin CountyHardin County: 110,834 persons110,834Daviess CountyDaviess County: 103,398 persons103,398Campbell CountyCampbell County: 93,141 persons93,141Madison CountyMadison County: 93,002 persons93,002Bullitt CountyBullitt County: 82,365 persons82,365Christian CountyChristian County: 72,752 persons72,752McCracken CountyMcCracken County: 67,923 persons67,923Oldham CountyOldham County: 67,705 persons67,705Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 65,112 persons65,112Laurel CountyLaurel County: 62,733 persons62,733Pike CountyPike County: 58,459 persons58,459Scott CountyScott County: 57,541 persons57,541Jessamine CountyJessamine County: 53,038 persons53,038Franklin CountyFranklin County: 51,600 persons51,600Shelby CountyShelby County: 48,245 persons48,245Boyd CountyBoyd County: 48,209 persons48,209Nelson CountyNelson County: 46,785 persons46,785Hopkins CountyHopkins County: 45,369 persons45,369Henderson CountyHenderson County: 44,677 persons44,677Barren CountyBarren County: 44,508 persons44,508Calloway CountyCalloway County: 37,595 persons37,595Clark CountyClark County: 37,033 persons37,033Whitley CountyWhitley County: 36,696 persons36,696Graves CountyGraves County: 36,533 persons36,533Greenup CountyGreenup County: 35,885 persons35,885Floyd CountyFloyd County: 35,805 persons35,805Marshall CountyMarshall County: 31,689 persons31,689Muhlenberg CountyMuhlenberg County: 30,904 persons30,904Boyle CountyBoyle County: 30,754 persons30,754Knox CountyKnox County: 30,186 persons30,186Meade CountyMeade County: 30,030 persons30,030Perry CountyPerry County: 28,370 persons28,370Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 28,115 persons28,115Logan CountyLogan County: 27,515 persons27,515Woodford CountyWoodford County: 26,900 persons26,900
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
persons
1Jefferson County782,866
2Fayette County322,620
3Kenton County169,263
4Boone County136,472
5Warren County135,039
6Hardin County110,834
7Daviess County103,398
8Campbell County93,141
9Madison County93,002
10Bullitt County82,365
11Christian County72,752
12McCracken County67,923
13Oldham County67,705
14Pulaski County65,112
15Laurel County62,733
16Pike County58,459
17Scott County57,541
18Jessamine County53,038
19Franklin County51,600
20Shelby County48,245
21Boyd County48,209
22Nelson County46,785
23Hopkins County45,369
24Henderson County44,677
25Barren County44,508
26Calloway County37,595
27Clark County37,033
28Whitley County36,696
29Graves County36,533
30Greenup County35,885
31Floyd County35,805
32Marshall County31,689
33Muhlenberg County30,904
34Boyle County30,754
35Knox County30,186
36Meade County30,030
37Perry County28,370
38Montgomery County28,115
39Logan County27,515
40Woodford County26,900
41Harlan County26,752
42Carter County26,614
43Grayson County26,458
44Taylor County26,011
45Grant County25,014
46Rowan County24,714
47Lincoln County24,249
48Bell County23,981
49Anderson County23,902
50Ohio County23,747
51Mercer County22,654
52Johnson County22,648
53Letcher County21,465
54Allen County20,573
55Breckinridge County20,443
56Clay County20,308
57Bourbon County20,299
58Simpson County19,628
59Marion County19,587
60Wayne County19,548
61Spencer County19,496
62Hart County19,288
63Adair County18,885
64Harrison County18,710
65Russell County17,997
66Mason County17,135
67Garrard County16,965
68McCreary County16,840
69Lawrence County16,300
70Rockcastle County16,057
71Casey County15,926
72Henry County15,693
73Fleming County15,089
74Larue County14,879
75Pendleton County14,641
76Knott County14,163
77Estill County14,156
78Trigg County14,077
79Morgan County13,733
80Breathitt County13,701
81Union County13,644
82Powell County13,098
83Lewis County13,088
84Webster County13,021
85Jackson County12,969
86Bath County12,715
87Caldwell County12,642
88Butler County12,321
89Todd County12,283
90Edmonson County12,140
91Washington County12,042
92Magoffin County11,606
93Monroe County11,315
94Owen County11,303
95Martin County11,252
96Green County11,129
97Carroll County10,831
98Leslie County10,470
99Metcalfe County10,286
100Clinton County9,231
101McLean County9,134
102Hancock County9,104
103Crittenden County9,002
104Livingston County8,871
105Gallatin County8,674
106Lyon County8,673
107Trimble County8,465
108Bracken County8,399
109Ballard County7,712
110Nicholas County7,542
111Lee County7,365
112Elliott County7,333
113Wolfe County6,560
114Fulton County6,510
115Menifee County6,138
116Cumberland County5,860
117Carlisle County4,807
118Hickman County4,528
119Owsley County4,034
120Robertson County2,182

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

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

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Jefferson County, with 782,866 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Robertson County, with 2,182 in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings