Counties in Kentucky by population

Jefferson County had the highest population of 120 counties in 2023, at 784,607. Robertson County had the lowest, at 2,321. The median was 19,700 and the figure for Kentucky was 4.55 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest784,607Jefferson County
Lowest2,321Robertson County
Median19,700120 counties
Kentucky4,549,953History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 784,607 persons784,607Fayette CountyFayette County: 323,414 persons323,414Kenton CountyKenton County: 172,179 persons172,179Warren CountyWarren County: 143,259 persons143,259Boone CountyBoone County: 141,388 persons141,388Hardin CountyHardin County: 112,322 persons112,322Daviess CountyDaviess County: 103,787 persons103,787Madison CountyMadison County: 97,551 persons97,551Campbell CountyCampbell County: 93,864 persons93,864Bullitt CountyBullitt County: 84,996 persons84,996Christian CountyChristian County: 71,269 persons71,269Oldham CountyOldham County: 70,348 persons70,348McCracken CountyMcCracken County: 67,549 persons67,549Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 66,237 persons66,237Laurel CountyLaurel County: 63,334 persons63,334Scott CountyScott County: 60,694 persons60,694Pike CountyPike County: 56,021 persons56,021Jessamine CountyJessamine County: 55,383 persons55,383Franklin CountyFranklin County: 51,851 persons51,851Shelby CountyShelby County: 49,700 persons49,700Nelson CountyNelson County: 47,909 persons47,909Boyd CountyBoyd County: 47,880 persons47,880Barren CountyBarren County: 45,067 persons45,067Hopkins CountyHopkins County: 44,914 persons44,914Henderson CountyHenderson County: 44,224 persons44,224Calloway CountyCalloway County: 38,523 persons38,523Clark CountyClark County: 37,349 persons37,349Whitley CountyWhitley County: 36,903 persons36,903Graves CountyGraves County: 36,590 persons36,590Greenup CountyGreenup County: 35,311 persons35,311Floyd CountyFloyd County: 35,001 persons35,001Marshall CountyMarshall County: 31,705 persons31,705Boyle CountyBoyle County: 31,062 persons31,062Muhlenberg CountyMuhlenberg County: 30,553 persons30,553Meade CountyMeade County: 30,189 persons30,189Knox CountyKnox County: 29,696 persons29,696Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 28,534 persons28,534Logan CountyLogan County: 28,272 persons28,272Woodford CountyWoodford County: 27,521 persons27,521Perry CountyPerry County: 27,069 persons27,069
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
persons
Change on 2022
1Jefferson County784,607+0.7%
2Fayette County323,414+0.6%
3Kenton County172,179+1%
4Warren County143,259+2%
5Boone County141,388+1.4%
6Hardin County112,322+0.5%
7Daviess County103,787+0.4%
8Madison County97,551+2.4%
9Campbell County93,864+0.6%
10Bullitt County84,996+1.3%
11Christian County71,269-1.3%
12Oldham County70,348+1.1%
13McCracken County67,549+0.3%
14Pulaski County66,237+0.7%
15Laurel County63,334+0.7%
16Scott County60,694+2%
17Pike County56,021-0.6%
18Jessamine County55,383+1.9%
19Franklin County51,851+0.1%
20Shelby County49,700+1.6%
21Nelson County47,909+1%
22Boyd County47,880-0.4%
23Barren County45,067+0.5%
24Hopkins County44,914+0.1%
25Henderson County44,224+0.4%
26Calloway County38,523+1.1%
27Clark County37,349+0.9%
28Whitley County36,903-0.1%
29Graves County36,590+0.1%
30Greenup County35,311-0.2%
31Floyd County35,001-1.5%
32Marshall County31,705-0.2%
33Boyle County31,062+0.7%
34Muhlenberg County30,553-0.5%
35Meade County30,189+0.5%
36Knox County29,696-0.1%
37Montgomery County28,534+0.6%
38Logan County28,272+1.5%
39Woodford County27,521+1.3%
40Perry County27,069-1.1%
41Grayson County26,875+0.9%
42Taylor County26,574+0.5%
43Carter County26,300-0%
44Grant County25,626+0.6%
45Harlan County25,306-1.2%
46Lincoln County24,791+1.6%
47Anderson County24,636+1.4%
48Rowan County24,467+0.2%
49Ohio County23,763+0.9%
50Bell County23,260-1.1%
51Mercer County23,172+1%
52Johnson County22,134-0.4%
53Allen County21,821+2.7%
54Breckinridge County21,120+0.9%
55Spencer County20,500+1.5%
56Letcher County20,449-1.7%
57Simpson County20,243+1.6%
58Bourbon County20,223+0.3%
59Marion County19,853+0.7%
60Hart County19,739+0.8%
61Clay County19,660-1.1%
62Wayne County19,629-0.2%
63Harrison County19,397+1.7%
64Adair County19,281+1%
65Russell County18,345+1%
66Garrard County17,858+1.6%
67McCreary County17,098+1.8%
68Mason County16,8750%
69Rockcastle County16,150-0.3%
70Henry County15,981+1.6%
71Lawrence County15,980-0.4%
72Casey County15,928+0.2%
73Fleming County15,411+1.1%
74Larue County15,315+1%
75Pendleton County14,783+0.7%
76Morgan County14,372+1.5%
77Trigg County14,353+0.2%
78Estill County13,923-0.4%
79Knott County13,656-1.4%
80Jackson County13,141+1.2%
81Union County13,091-0.3%
82Lewis County12,989+0.6%
83Bath County12,984+1.3%
84Powell County12,981-0.6%
85Breathitt County12,931-3.1%
86Webster County12,746+0.1%
87Caldwell County12,590-0.2%
88Todd County12,575+1.2%
89Edmonson County12,461+1.3%
90Butler County12,427+0.4%
91Washington County12,266+1.6%
92Green County11,452+0.8%
93Owen County11,319+0.2%
94Monroe County11,246-0.6%
95Magoffin County11,224-0.9%
96Carroll County10,984+0.4%
97Martin County10,932-1.5%
98Metcalfe County10,512+1.1%
99Leslie County9,871-1.7%
100Clinton County9,192+0.6%
101Lyon County9,177+0.8%
102McLean County9,047-0.7%
103Crittenden County8,991+0.2%
104Hancock County8,930-1.2%
105Livingston County8,919-0.4%
106Gallatin County8,7790%
107Trimble County8,631+1.3%
108Bracken County8,416-0.1%
109Nicholas County7,692-1%
110Ballard County7,605-0.3%
111Lee County7,301+0.6%
112Elliott County7,269-0.4%
113Fulton County6,355-0.5%
114Wolfe County6,318-1.5%
115Menifee County6,280+1%
116Cumberland County5,980+0.6%
117Carlisle County4,744+0.4%
118Hickman County4,425+0.3%
119Owsley County3,987+1.2%
120Robertson County2,321+3.2%

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 784,607 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Robertson County, with 2,321 in 2023.

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