Counties in Kentucky by unemployment rate

Wolfe County had the highest unemployment rate of 120 counties in January 2026, at 10.2%. Woodford County had the lowest, at 3.2%. The median was 4.7% and the figure for Kentucky was 4.3%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest10.2Wolfe County
Median4.7120 counties
Kentucky4.3History

Top 40 counties, January 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Wolfe CountyWolfe County: 10.2 %10.2Lewis CountyLewis County: 8.8 %8.8Magoffin CountyMagoffin County: 8.7 %8.7Elliott CountyElliott County: 8.3 %8.3Carter CountyCarter County: 7.6 %7.6Martin CountyMartin County: 7.4 %7.4Menifee CountyMenifee County: 7.3 %7.3Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 6.8 %6.8Jackson CountyJackson County: 6.6 %6.6Breathitt CountyBreathitt County: 6.4 %6.4Johnson CountyJohnson County: 6.3 %6.3McCreary CountyMcCreary County: 6.2 %6.2Greenup CountyGreenup County: 6.1 %6.1Morgan CountyMorgan County: 6.1 %6.1Bath CountyBath County: 6 %6Robertson CountyRobertson County: 6 %6Grayson CountyGrayson County: 5.9 %5.9Harlan CountyHarlan County: 5.9 %5.9Wayne CountyWayne County: 5.9 %5.9Bell CountyBell County: 5.8 %5.8Mason CountyMason County: 5.8 %5.8Bracken CountyBracken County: 5.7 %5.7Estill CountyEstill County: 5.7 %5.7Floyd CountyFloyd County: 5.6 %5.6Knott CountyKnott County: 5.6 %5.6Clay CountyClay County: 5.5 %5.5Edmonson CountyEdmonson County: 5.5 %5.5Knox CountyKnox County: 5.5 %5.5Muhlenberg CountyMuhlenberg County: 5.5 %5.5Ohio CountyOhio County: 5.5 %5.5Christian CountyChristian County: 5.4 %5.4Livingston CountyLivingston County: 5.4 %5.4Clinton CountyClinton County: 5.3 %5.3Laurel CountyLaurel County: 5.3 %5.3Pike CountyPike County: 5.3 %5.3Rowan CountyRowan County: 5.3 %5.3Boyd CountyBoyd County: 5.2 %5.2Butler CountyButler County: 5.2 %5.2Lyon CountyLyon County: 5.2 %5.2Breckinridge CountyBreckinridge County: 5.1 %5.1
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesJanuary 2026 (%)Change on January 2025
1Wolfe County10.2-3.3 pts
2Lewis County8.8-2.3 pts
3Magoffin County8.7-2 pts
4Elliott County8.3-2.5 pts
5Carter County7.6-2.3 pts
6Martin County7.4-2.9 pts
7Menifee County7.3-2.8 pts
8Lawrence County6.8-2.2 pts
9Jackson County6.6-1.6 pts
10Breathitt County6.4-2.4 pts
11Johnson County6.3-1.5 pts
12McCreary County6.2-0.2 pts
13Greenup County6.1-1.4 pts
13Morgan County6.1-2.2 pts
15Bath County6-2.3 pts
15Robertson County6-1.4 pts
17Grayson County5.9-0.9 pts
17Harlan County5.9-1.6 pts
17Wayne County5.9-0.9 pts
20Bell County5.8-1.2 pts
20Mason County5.8-1.8 pts
22Bracken County5.7-2.1 pts
22Estill County5.7-1.4 pts
24Floyd County5.6-1.5 pts
24Knott County5.6-1.6 pts
26Clay County5.5-1.9 pts
26Edmonson County5.5-1.1 pts
26Knox County5.5-1.5 pts
26Muhlenberg County5.5-1.3 pts
26Ohio County5.5-1.3 pts
31Christian County5.4-0.6 pts
31Livingston County5.4-1.3 pts
33Clinton County5.3-1.3 pts
33Laurel County5.3-0.7 pts
33Pike County5.3-1.1 pts
33Rowan County5.3-1.6 pts
37Boyd County5.2-1.4 pts
37Butler County5.2-1.1 pts
37Lyon County5.2-1.7 pts
40Breckinridge County5.1-0.9 pts
41Fleming County5-1.8 pts
41Letcher County5-1.1 pts
41Lincoln County5-1.8 pts
44Calloway County4.9-1 pts
44Cumberland County4.9-1.1 pts
44Leslie County4.9-1.4 pts
44Marion County4.9-0.6 pts
44Marshall County4.9-1.3 pts
44Owsley County4.9-1.7 pts
44Rockcastle County4.9-1.1 pts
51Bullitt County4.80 pts
51Fulton County4.8-0.2 pts
51Hardin County4.8-0.6 pts
51Powell County4.8-1.1 pts
55Ballard County4.7-1.1 pts
55Barren County4.7-1.2 pts
55Grant County4.7-0.8 pts
55Hickman County4.7-0.1 pts
55Lee County4.7-1.3 pts
55Logan County4.7-0.2 pts
55Monroe County4.7-1.2 pts
55Montgomery County4.7-1.5 pts
55Pulaski County4.7-0.9 pts
64Madison County4.6-0.7 pts
64Meade County4.6-0.5 pts
64Taylor County4.6-1 pts
64Trigg County4.6-0.9 pts
68Boyle County4.5-1.2 pts
68McLean County4.5-1 pts
68Nelson County4.5-0.4 pts
68Pendleton County4.5-1.6 pts
68Simpson County4.5-0.4 pts
68Spencer County4.50 pts
74Adair County4.4-1.2 pts
74Casey County4.4-1.2 pts
74Crittenden County4.4-1.2 pts
74Gallatin County4.4-1 pts
74Green County4.4-1.2 pts
74Hancock County4.4-1.3 pts
74Hopkins County4.4-1.1 pts
74Jefferson County4.4-0.3 pts
74Mercer County4.4-0.9 pts
74Perry County4.4-1.1 pts
74Whitley County4.4-0.9 pts
85Anderson County4.3-0.3 pts
85Henderson County4.3-0.7 pts
85Russell County4.3-1.6 pts
85Webster County4.3-1 pts
89Garrard County4.2-1 pts
89Hart County4.2-1.2 pts
89Henry County4.2-0.8 pts
89Owen County4.2-1 pts
93Carlisle County4.1-1 pts
93McCracken County4.1-1 pts
93Metcalfe County4.1-2.1 pts
96Allen County4-0.9 pts
96Clark County4-1 pts
96Larue County4-1.3 pts
96Trimble County4-1.1 pts
96Warren County4-0.7 pts
101Caldwell County3.9-0.8 pts
101Nicholas County3.9-0.6 pts
101Shelby County3.9-0.1 pts
101Union County3.9-0.6 pts
105Boone County3.8-0.7 pts
105Carroll County3.8-1.6 pts
105Daviess County3.8-1.1 pts
105Franklin County3.8-0.9 pts
105Washington County3.8-0.7 pts
110Bourbon County3.7-0.6 pts
110Campbell County3.7-1 pts
110Graves County3.7-0.9 pts
110Harrison County3.7-0.7 pts
110Kenton County3.7-0.8 pts
110Oldham County3.7-0.5 pts
116Jessamine County3.6-0.7 pts
116Scott County3.6-0.6 pts
118Fayette County3.5-0.6 pts
119Todd County3.4-1 pts
120Woodford County3.2-0.5 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Kentucky by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"Kentucky","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate&level=province&within=Kentucky&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Wolfe County, with 10.2% in January 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Woodford County, with 3.2% in January 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings