Counties in Kentucky by population

Jefferson County had the highest population of 120 counties in 2024, at 794,166. Robertson County had the lowest, at 2,352. The median was 19,737 and the figure for Kentucky was 4.58 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest794,166Jefferson County
Lowest2,352Robertson County
Median19,737120 counties
Kentucky4,584,046History

Top 40 counties, 2024

CSVChart (SVG)

Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 794,166 persons794,166Fayette CountyFayette County: 327,071 persons327,071Kenton CountyKenton County: 174,441 persons174,441Warren CountyWarren County: 146,566 persons146,566Boone CountyBoone County: 143,490 persons143,490Hardin CountyHardin County: 112,644 persons112,644Daviess CountyDaviess County: 104,275 persons104,275Madison CountyMadison County: 99,600 persons99,600Campbell CountyCampbell County: 94,054 persons94,054Bullitt CountyBullitt County: 85,765 persons85,765Christian CountyChristian County: 71,436 persons71,436Oldham CountyOldham County: 70,600 persons70,600McCracken CountyMcCracken County: 67,732 persons67,732Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 66,959 persons66,959Laurel CountyLaurel County: 63,244 persons63,244Scott CountyScott County: 61,724 persons61,724Jessamine CountyJessamine County: 56,316 persons56,316Pike CountyPike County: 55,358 persons55,358Franklin CountyFranklin County: 52,397 persons52,397Shelby CountyShelby County: 50,482 persons50,482Nelson CountyNelson County: 48,609 persons48,609Boyd CountyBoyd County: 47,948 persons47,948Barren CountyBarren County: 45,412 persons45,412Hopkins CountyHopkins County: 45,021 persons45,021Henderson CountyHenderson County: 44,348 persons44,348Calloway CountyCalloway County: 38,902 persons38,902Clark CountyClark County: 37,684 persons37,684Whitley CountyWhitley County: 37,205 persons37,205Graves CountyGraves County: 36,798 persons36,798Greenup CountyGreenup County: 35,250 persons35,250Floyd CountyFloyd County: 34,630 persons34,630Marshall CountyMarshall County: 31,655 persons31,655Boyle CountyBoyle County: 31,297 persons31,297Muhlenberg CountyMuhlenberg County: 30,572 persons30,572Meade CountyMeade County: 30,497 persons30,497Knox CountyKnox County: 29,652 persons29,652Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 28,813 persons28,813Logan CountyLogan County: 28,449 persons28,449Woodford CountyWoodford County: 27,684 persons27,684Grayson CountyGrayson County: 27,179 persons27,179
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024
persons
Change on 2023
1Jefferson County794,166+1.2%
2Fayette County327,071+1.1%
3Kenton County174,441+1.3%
4Warren County146,566+2.3%
5Boone County143,490+1.5%
6Hardin County112,644+0.3%
7Daviess County104,275+0.5%
8Madison County99,600+2.1%
9Campbell County94,054+0.2%
10Bullitt County85,765+0.9%
11Christian County71,436+0.2%
12Oldham County70,600+0.4%
13McCracken County67,732+0.3%
14Pulaski County66,959+1.1%
15Laurel County63,244-0.1%
16Scott County61,724+1.7%
17Jessamine County56,316+1.7%
18Pike County55,358-1.2%
19Franklin County52,397+1.1%
20Shelby County50,482+1.6%
21Nelson County48,609+1.5%
22Boyd County47,948+0.1%
23Barren County45,412+0.8%
24Hopkins County45,021+0.2%
25Henderson County44,348+0.3%
26Calloway County38,902+1%
27Clark County37,684+0.9%
28Whitley County37,205+0.8%
29Graves County36,798+0.6%
30Greenup County35,250-0.2%
31Floyd County34,630-1.1%
32Marshall County31,655-0.2%
33Boyle County31,297+0.8%
34Muhlenberg County30,572+0.1%
35Meade County30,497+1%
36Knox County29,652-0.1%
37Montgomery County28,813+1%
38Logan County28,449+0.6%
39Woodford County27,684+0.6%
40Grayson County27,179+1.1%
41Taylor County26,811+0.9%
42Perry County26,805-1%
43Carter County26,195-0.4%
44Grant County25,732+0.4%
45Lincoln County25,053+1.1%
46Harlan County25,046-1%
47Anderson County24,958+1.3%
48Rowan County24,526+0.2%
49Ohio County23,900+0.6%
50Mercer County23,499+1.4%
51Bell County23,005-1.1%
52Johnson County22,133-0%
53Allen County22,095+1.3%
54Breckinridge County21,264+0.7%
55Spencer County20,707+1%
56Simpson County20,418+0.9%
57Bourbon County20,337+0.6%
58Letcher County20,207-1.2%
59Marion County19,998+0.7%
60Hart County19,910+0.9%
61Wayne County19,563-0.3%
62Clay County19,555-0.5%
63Harrison County19,467+0.4%
64Adair County19,235-0.2%
65Russell County18,549+1.1%
66Garrard County17,948+0.5%
67McCreary County16,923-1%
68Mason County16,914+0.2%
69Rockcastle County16,212+0.4%
70Henry County16,202+1.4%
71Casey County16,053+0.8%
72Lawrence County15,825-1%
73Fleming County15,648+1.5%
74Larue County15,156-1%
75Pendleton County14,801+0.1%
76Trigg County14,513+1.1%
77Morgan County14,233-1%
78Estill County13,945+0.2%
79Knott County13,463-1.4%
80Jackson County13,294+1.2%
81Union County13,127+0.3%
82Bath County12,970-0.1%
83Lewis County12,912-0.6%
84Webster County12,872+1%
85Powell County12,861-0.9%
86Todd County12,787+1.7%
87Breathitt County12,751-1.4%
88Edmonson County12,662+1.6%
89Caldwell County12,588-0%
90Butler County12,480+0.4%
91Washington County12,310+0.4%
92Green County11,548+0.8%
93Owen County11,465+1.3%
94Magoffin County11,171-0.5%
95Monroe County11,156-0.8%
96Carroll County11,111+1.2%
97Martin County10,683-2.3%
98Metcalfe County10,537+0.2%
99Leslie County9,749-1.2%
100Clinton County9,172-0.2%
101McLean County9,081+0.4%
102Lyon County9,077-1.1%
103Hancock County9,018+1%
104Crittenden County8,975-0.2%
105Livingston County8,847-0.8%
106Gallatin County8,764-0.2%
107Trimble County8,639+0.1%
108Bracken County8,462+0.5%
109Nicholas County7,752+0.8%
110Ballard County7,6080%
111Lee County7,293-0.1%
112Elliott County7,2700%
113Menifee County6,329+0.8%
114Wolfe County6,263-0.9%
115Fulton County6,260-1.5%
116Cumberland County6,037+1%
117Carlisle County4,764+0.4%
118Hickman County4,390-0.8%
119Owsley County3,930-1.4%
120Robertson County2,352+1.3%

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 794,166 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Robertson County, with 2,352 in 2024.

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