Counties in Kentucky by population

Jefferson County had the highest population of 120 counties in 2021, at 777,774. Robertson County had the lowest, at 2,257. The median was 19,632 and the figure for Kentucky was 4.51 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest777,774Jefferson County
Lowest2,257Robertson County
Median19,632120 counties
Kentucky4,508,348History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 777,774 persons777,774Fayette CountyFayette County: 320,450 persons320,450Kenton CountyKenton County: 169,629 persons169,629Boone CountyBoone County: 137,720 persons137,720Warren CountyWarren County: 137,194 persons137,194Hardin CountyHardin County: 111,866 persons111,866Daviess CountyDaviess County: 103,104 persons103,104Madison CountyMadison County: 93,485 persons93,485Campbell CountyCampbell County: 92,848 persons92,848Bullitt CountyBullitt County: 83,096 persons83,096Christian CountyChristian County: 73,172 persons73,172Oldham CountyOldham County: 68,295 persons68,295McCracken CountyMcCracken County: 67,583 persons67,583Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 65,543 persons65,543Laurel CountyLaurel County: 62,598 persons62,598Scott CountyScott County: 58,462 persons58,462Pike CountyPike County: 57,499 persons57,499Jessamine CountyJessamine County: 53,636 persons53,636Franklin CountyFranklin County: 51,807 persons51,807Shelby CountyShelby County: 48,596 persons48,596Boyd CountyBoyd County: 47,756 persons47,756Nelson CountyNelson County: 47,149 persons47,149Hopkins CountyHopkins County: 45,157 persons45,157Barren CountyBarren County: 44,604 persons44,604Henderson CountyHenderson County: 44,419 persons44,419Calloway CountyCalloway County: 37,891 persons37,891Clark CountyClark County: 36,880 persons36,880Whitley CountyWhitley County: 36,820 persons36,820Graves CountyGraves County: 36,677 persons36,677Greenup CountyGreenup County: 35,655 persons35,655Floyd CountyFloyd County: 35,292 persons35,292Marshall CountyMarshall County: 31,810 persons31,810Boyle CountyBoyle County: 30,598 persons30,598Muhlenberg CountyMuhlenberg County: 30,334 persons30,334Meade CountyMeade County: 30,150 persons30,150Knox CountyKnox County: 30,019 persons30,019Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 28,231 persons28,231Perry CountyPerry County: 27,926 persons27,926Logan CountyLogan County: 27,811 persons27,811Woodford CountyWoodford County: 27,093 persons27,093
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
persons
Change on 2020
1Jefferson County777,774-0.7%
2Fayette County320,450-0.7%
3Kenton County169,629+0.2%
4Boone County137,720+0.9%
5Warren County137,194+1.6%
6Hardin County111,866+0.9%
7Daviess County103,104-0.3%
8Madison County93,485+0.5%
9Campbell County92,848-0.3%
10Bullitt County83,096+0.9%
11Christian County73,172+0.6%
12Oldham County68,295+0.9%
13McCracken County67,583-0.5%
14Pulaski County65,543+0.7%
15Laurel County62,598-0.2%
16Scott County58,462+1.6%
17Pike County57,499-1.6%
18Jessamine County53,636+1.1%
19Franklin County51,807+0.4%
20Shelby County48,596+0.7%
21Boyd County47,756-0.9%
22Nelson County47,149+0.8%
23Hopkins County45,157-0.5%
24Barren County44,604+0.2%
25Henderson County44,419-0.6%
26Calloway County37,891+0.8%
27Clark County36,880-0.4%
28Whitley County36,820+0.3%
29Graves County36,677+0.4%
30Greenup County35,655-0.6%
31Floyd County35,292-1.4%
32Marshall County31,810+0.4%
33Boyle County30,598-0.5%
34Muhlenberg County30,334-1.8%
35Meade County30,150+0.4%
36Knox County30,019-0.6%
37Montgomery County28,231+0.4%
38Perry County27,926-1.6%
39Logan County27,811+1.1%
40Woodford County27,093+0.7%
41Grayson County26,582+0.5%
42Carter County26,448-0.6%
43Taylor County26,208+0.8%
44Harlan County26,139-2.3%
45Grant County25,299+1.1%
46Rowan County24,565-0.6%
47Lincoln County24,2560%
48Anderson County24,106+0.9%
49Bell County23,799-0.8%
50Ohio County23,730-0.1%
51Mercer County22,869+0.9%
52Johnson County22,550-0.4%
53Letcher County21,228-1.1%
54Allen County20,833+1.3%
55Breckinridge County20,673+1.1%
56Bourbon County20,248-0.3%
57Clay County20,162-0.7%
58Spencer County19,875+1.9%
59Simpson County19,736+0.6%
60Marion County19,717+0.7%
61Wayne County19,547-0%
62Hart County19,471+0.9%
63Harrison County18,951+1.3%
64Adair County18,927+0.2%
65Russell County18,159+0.9%
66Garrard County17,373+2.4%
67Mason County16,953-1.1%
68McCreary County16,811-0.2%
69Lawrence County16,261-0.2%
70Rockcastle County16,136+0.5%
71Casey County15,9270%
72Henry County15,704+0.1%
73Fleming County15,250+1.1%
74Larue County15,032+1%
75Pendleton County14,624-0.1%
76Trigg County14,219+1%
77Estill County14,081-0.5%
78Knott County14,043-0.8%
79Morgan County13,692-0.3%
80Breathitt County13,555-1.1%
81Union County13,262-2.8%
82Powell County13,092-0%
83Lewis County12,981-0.8%
84Jackson County12,978+0.1%
85Webster County12,853-1.3%
86Bath County12,799+0.7%
87Caldwell County12,698+0.4%
88Butler County12,304-0.1%
89Todd County12,298+0.1%
90Edmonson County12,230+0.7%
91Washington County12,081+0.3%
92Magoffin County11,491-1%
93Green County11,313+1.7%
94Owen County11,3050%
95Monroe County11,258-0.5%
96Martin County11,166-0.8%
97Carroll County10,896+0.6%
98Metcalfe County10,392+1%
99Leslie County10,285-1.8%
100Clinton County9,285+0.6%
101McLean County9,121-0.1%
102Hancock County9,076-0.3%
103Livingston County8,978+1.2%
104Crittenden County8,945-0.6%
105Gallatin County8,744+0.8%
106Trimble County8,552+1%
107Bracken County8,441+0.5%
108Lyon County8,426-2.8%
109Nicholas County7,728+2.5%
110Ballard County7,687-0.3%
111Lee County7,461+1.3%
112Elliott County7,364+0.4%
113Wolfe County6,509-0.8%
114Fulton County6,487-0.4%
115Menifee County6,172+0.6%
116Cumberland County5,902+0.7%
117Carlisle County4,763-0.9%
118Hickman County4,426-2.3%
119Owsley County3,974-1.5%
120Robertson County2,257+3.4%

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 777,774 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Robertson County, with 2,257 in 2021.

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