Kentucky by the numbers
Kentucky is known for bourbon, basketball and horses—and you’ll find all those things here, too—but there are many interesting facts about the commonwealth. From automotive production to travelers visiting Kentucky, find some of our favorite data below.
INDUSTRY
- Kentucky is the #1 producer of cars, light trucks, and SUVs per capita (Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development)
- There are more than 550 automotive-related facilities in Kentucky. (CED)
- 1 out of every 18 workers in the U.S. automotive industry work in Kentucky (CED)
- Kentucky’s automotive-related establishments employe 103,000 people. (CED)
- More than 100 aerospace-related facilities in Kentucky employ more than 23,000 people. (CED)
- The average price of industrial electricity in Kentucky is 17% lower than the national average. (CED)
- 6.5 million Airhead candy bars are produced daily in Erlanger. (National Confectioners Association)
- Laughing Cow cheese makes more than 400 million wedges each year in Leitchfield. (Bel Brands USA)
- Every Post-it Note gets its start at a plant in Cynthiana. In 2024, 3M made enough Post-It Notes to circle the Earth more than 100 times. (Post-it)
- There are more than 7.5 million barrels of bourbon in Kentucky rickhouses. That’s nearly 1.75 barrels of bourbon for every person in the state. (Kentucky Tourism)
POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHICS
- The population of Kentucky topped 4.5 million in 2020. (U.S. Census)
- There are 1,994,323 housing units in Kentucky. (U.S. Census)
- By population density, Kentucky’s smallest county is Robertson, with 2,193 people. The largest is Jefferson, with 782,969 people. (U.S. Census)
- 89.4% of Kentucky adults 25 and over have a high school degree. (U.S. Census)
- 35% of Kentucky adults 25 and over have a bachelor’s degree. (U.S. Census)
- Scott County is projected to have the state’s biggest population growth in coming decades—an increase of 79.5% by 2050. (U.S. Census)
FUN AND GAMES
- There are more than 300 golf courses in Kentucky. (Kentucky Tourism)
- The University of Kentucky’s biggest-ever basketball crowd was for Coach John Calipari’s first game against Louisville in 2010. 24,479 people attended. (UK Athletics)
- Kentucky has more than 1.5 million acres of public hunting land. (KDFWR)
- Kentucky’s 13 major river basins contain more than 90,000 miles of streams (Kentucky Geological Survey, UK)
- There are more than 450 horse farms in the state. (Kentucky Tourism)
- 107 out of 150 Kentucky Derby winners were bred in Kentucky. (Kentucky Tourism)
- Kentucky has 45 state parks and historic sites and one interstate park. (Kentucky Tourism)
- 79.3 million travelers visited Kentucky in 2023, a 4.5% increase from 2022. Those travelers spent a total of $9.7 billion across the state. (Kentucky Tourism)
