Counties in Kentucky by wages and salaries paid, 2024

Jefferson County had the highest wages and salaries paid of 120 counties in 2024, at $36.84 billion. Robertson County had the lowest, at $14.12 million. The median was $259.54 million and the figure for Kentucky was $127.82 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Highest36,836.4Jefferson County
Median259.5120 counties
Kentucky127,820History

Top 40 counties, 2024

Jefferson County: 36,836.4 USD millionJefferson County36,836.4Fayette County: 14,051.3 USD millionFayette County14,051.3Boone County: 6,446.5 USD millionBoone County6,446.5Kenton County: 5,734 USD millionKenton County5,734Warren County: 4,169.2 USD millionWarren County4,169.2Christian County: 3,944.3 USD millionChristian County3,944.3Hardin County: 3,399.2 USD millionHardin County3,399.2Daviess County: 2,693.7 USD millionDaviess County2,693.7McCracken County: 2,488.5 USD millionMcCracken County2,488.5Scott County: 2,385.4 USD millionScott County2,385.4Franklin County: 2,252.5 USD millionFranklin County2,252.5Madison County: 2,123.2 USD millionMadison County2,123.2Campbell County: 1,972.8 USD millionCampbell County1,972.8Bullitt County: 1,634.4 USD millionBullitt County1,634.4Boyd County: 1,626.8 USD millionBoyd County1,626.8Laurel County: 1,355.2 USD millionLaurel County1,355.2Pulaski County: 1,351.5 USD millionPulaski County1,351.5Oldham County: 1,294.7 USD millionOldham County1,294.7Pike County: 1,132.5 USD millionPike County1,132.5Nelson County: 1,109.4 USD millionNelson County1,109.4Henderson County: 1,104.3 USD millionHenderson County1,104.3Jessamine County: 1,088 USD millionJessamine County1,088Hopkins County: 1,019.7 USD millionHopkins County1,019.7Shelby County: 996.3 USD millionShelby County996.3Barren County: 856.8 USD millionBarren County856.8Boyle County: 827.5 USD millionBoyle County827.5Clark County: 815.8 USD millionClark County815.8Marshall County: 777.3 USD millionMarshall County777.3Calloway County: 774.7 USD millionCalloway County774.7Whitley County: 723.7 USD millionWhitley County723.7Graves County: 640.5 USD millionGraves County640.5Perry County: 623.2 USD millionPerry County623.2Woodford County: 592.5 USD millionWoodford County592.5Carroll County: 579.2 USD millionCarroll County579.2Floyd County: 570.2 USD millionFloyd County570.2Taylor County: 562 USD millionTaylor County562Logan County: 561.2 USD millionLogan County561.2Montgomery County: 556 USD millionMontgomery County556Rowan County: 540.6 USD millionRowan County540.6Simpson County: 510.9 USD millionSimpson County510.9
USD million. Source: BEA, CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024
USD million
Change on 2023
1Jefferson County36,836.4+4%
2Fayette County14,051.3+4.5%
3Boone County6,446.5+1.5%
4Kenton County5,734+4.9%
5Warren County4,169.2+6.7%
6Christian County3,944.3+2.5%
7Hardin County3,399.2+5.7%
8Daviess County2,693.7+4.3%
9McCracken County2,488.5+3.2%
10Scott County2,385.4+11.3%
11Franklin County2,252.5+7.7%
12Madison County2,123.2+8.9%
13Campbell County1,972.8+3.2%
14Bullitt County1,634.4+7.9%
15Boyd County1,626.8+5%
16Laurel County1,355.2+5.5%
17Pulaski County1,351.5+4%
18Oldham County1,294.7+16.6%
19Pike County1,132.5+2.4%
20Nelson County1,109.4+7.1%
21Henderson County1,104.3+2.5%
22Jessamine County1,088+6.7%
23Hopkins County1,019.7+4.1%
24Shelby County996.3+8%
25Barren County856.8+8.5%
26Boyle County827.5+3.7%
27Clark County815.8+6.2%
28Marshall County777.3+3.1%
29Calloway County774.7+6%
30Whitley County723.7+7.5%
31Graves County640.5+4.9%
32Perry County623.2+3.6%
33Woodford County592.5+5.3%
34Carroll County579.2+0.3%
35Floyd County570.2+4.8%
36Taylor County562+3.7%
37Logan County561.2+3.9%
38Montgomery County556+0.7%
39Rowan County540.6+5.8%
40Simpson County510.9-4.4%
41Marion County483+5.1%
42Muhlenberg County469.3+6.9%
43Bourbon County433.4+4%
44Mason County429.6+2.2%
45Mercer County413.7+0.5%
46Greenup County403.8+3.1%
47Bell County380.5+1.4%
48Knox County360.7+1%
49Grayson County358.1+1.8%
50Ohio County348.8+3.5%
51Meade County336.8+4.8%
52Union County336.4+7%
53Grant County307.4+8.1%
54Harlan County305.6+6.6%
55Hancock County299.9+1.4%
56Russell County299.4+10.6%
57Hart County292.2+9.4%
58Harrison County290.5+6.2%
59Anderson County268.6+6.5%
60Allen County260.2+3.8%
61Carter County258.9+2.7%
62Johnson County253+4%
63Adair County232.1+5.8%
64Caldwell County222.7+3%
65Wayne County222.5+2%
66Livingston County221.3+28.5%
67Letcher County210.6+1%
68Lawrence County206.4+4.1%
69Clay County204.9+4.4%
70Washington County200.6+5.8%
71Lincoln County193.9+2.5%
72Breckinridge County187.2+6.9%
73Casey County186.8+3.6%
74Rockcastle County183.2+2%
75Gallatin County182.7-0.3%
76Monroe County170.6+9.1%
77Morgan County170.3+11.7%
78Fleming County168.1+4%
79Henry County162+10.4%
80Todd County158.7+11.6%
81Webster County152.7+5.1%
82Clinton County152.2+7.9%
83McCreary County151.5+7.8%
84Garrard County150.6+12%
85Butler County145.4+6%
86Ballard County136.5+12.5%
87Pendleton County133.7+6%
88Lyon County133.5+7.3%
89Powell County133+7.7%
90Breathitt County132.4+10.9%
91Trigg County130.6-0.4%
92Larue County129.7+13.1%
93Cumberland County122.2+9.6%
94Estill County118.6+2.1%
95Spencer County118+5.8%
96Martin County115.3+12.8%
97Fulton County114.1+3.2%
98Metcalfe County107.8+6.2%
99Bath County104.9-1.2%
100Knott County102.5+6.1%
101Crittenden County91.7+6.4%
102Green County91.7+5.6%
103Lewis County90.8+2.1%
104Owen County86.9+6.9%
105Magoffin County84.1+7%
106Lee County81.5+0.1%
107Bracken County81.5+7%
108Edmonson County80.2+6.8%
109Jackson County79.6+5.1%
110McLean County77.1+1.6%
111Leslie County75.3+1.1%
112Trimble County71.7+1%
113Wolfe County68+11.3%
114Carlisle County52.9+3.9%
115Menifee County45.1+6%
116Elliott County44.5+3.7%
117Hickman County44.2+9.9%
118Nicholas County43.6+7.8%
119Owsley County32.5+7.5%
120Robertson County14.1+9.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total wages and salaries paid to employees for jobs located in a place, including tips, bonuses and pay in kind, before deductions, in millions of current US dollars. United States: Bureau of Economic Analysis regional accounts, table SAINC4 line 50 for the nation and states and CAINC4 line 50 for counties.

Counted where the jobs are, not where the workers live, so places with many commuters coming in can pay more in wages than their residents receive in personal income (the District of Columbia does). Excludes employer contributions to pensions, insurance and social security, and the income of the self-employed.

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 Economic Analysis. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2026). CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents (Counties in Kentucky by wages and salaries paid, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip

MLA 9

CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents, Counties in Kentucky by wages and salaries paid, 2024. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 5 Feb. 2026, https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/kentucky-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2026. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Counties in Kentucky by wages and salaries paid, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/kentucky-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (2026) CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents, Counties in Kentucky by wages and salaries paid, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/kentucky-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_kentucky_by_2024,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis}},
  title = {{CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents: Counties in Kentucky by wages and salaries paid, 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/kentucky-counties. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
TI  - CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents: Counties in Kentucky by wages and salaries paid, 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/05
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/kentucky-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/kentucky-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest wages and salaries paid?

Jefferson County, with $36.84 billion in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which county has the lowest wages and salaries paid?

Robertson County, with $14.12 million in 2024.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Wages and salaries paid: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings