Kentucky population and people

What share of Kentucky is on Medicaid

Two federal sources answer this question, and they measure different things. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services counted 1,270,317 people enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in June 2026. That equals 27.6% of the state's population, the 8th highest share in the country and 6.1 percentage points above the US figure (21.5%). Kentucky's share is higher than every bordering state (Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia)⁹.

District of Columbia34.6%

New York32.0%

New Mexico31.8%

California29.8%

Oregon29.7%

Alaska28.3%

Louisiana27.7%

Kentucky27.6%

West Virginia27.5%

Hawaii27.4%

Source: CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), State Medicaid and CHIP Applications, Eligibility Determinations, and Enrollment Data. Period: June 2026.

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State	Medicaid and CHIP enrollees (% of residents)
District of Columbia	34.6%
New York	32.0%
New Mexico	31.8%
California	29.8%
Oregon	29.7%
Alaska	28.3%
Louisiana	27.7%
Kentucky	27.6%
West Virginia	27.5%
Hawaii	27.4%

Enrollment fell over the year: there were 1,371,559 enrollees in June 2025, a change of −7.4% by June 2026, compared with −5.8% nationally. Of the June 2026 total, 551,829 were children enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP and 718,488⁹ were adults.

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey asks people what coverage they have. In 2025, 22.9% (±0.5 percentage points) of Kentuckians reported Medicaid or another means-tested public plan, 6.3 percentage points above the US figure (16.6%) and the 4th highest share. Among children under 19 the share was 44.4%, 9.2 percentage points above the US figure (35.2%); among adults aged 19 to 64 it was 19.6%. Counting Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' care together, 43.1% of residents had some public coverage, the 4th highest¹⁰ share. The two figures are not interchangeable: CMS counts enrollment records, and some states count anyone enrolled at any time in the month, while the survey records the coverage people report.

Few Kentuckians go without insurance. The uninsured share was 7.2% (±0.3 percentage points) in 2025, 1.2 percentage points below the US figure (8.4%)¹¹. It was 14.3% in 2013, close to the national 14.5%, and 6.0% two years later, when the national share was 9.4%¹².

KentuckyUnited States

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2005-2019 and 2021-2025. ACS 1-year estimates; no standard 1-year release for 2020. Shaded band: 90% margin of error.

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Year	Kentucky	United States
2008	14.1% ±0.3	15.1% ±0.1
2009	14.5% ±0.3	15.1% ±0.0
2010	15.3% ±0.3	15.5% ±0.0
2011	14.4% ±0.3	15.1% ±0.0
2012	13.9% ±0.3	14.8% ±0.0
2013	14.3% ±0.3	14.5% ±0.0
2014	8.5% ±0.2	11.7% ±0.0
2015	6.0% ±0.2	9.4% ±0.0
2016	5.1% ±0.2	8.6% ±0.0
2017	5.4% ±0.2	8.7% ±0.0
2018	5.6% ±0.2	8.9% ±0.0
2019	6.4% ±0.2	9.2% ±0.0
2021	5.7% ±0.2	8.6% ±0.0
2022	5.6% ±0.2	8.0% ±0.0
2023	5.4% ±0.2	7.9% ±0.0
2024	6.8% ±0.2	8.2% ±0.0
2025	7.2% ±0.3	8.4% ±0.0

Four in ten Kentuckians live in rural areas

The 2020 Census classified 41.3% of Kentucky's residents as rural, 21.3 percentage points above the US figure (20.0%). That is the 10th highest rural share, and it is higher than Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia; lower than West Virginia. The remaining 58.7% lived in urban areas, the 10th lowest¹³ urban share.

District of Columbia 0.0%Vermont 64.9%

Source: Census Bureau, 2020 Census urban and rural population by state. Each dot is a state. Period: April 1, 2020.

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State	Rural population (%)
Vermont	64.9%
Maine	61.4%
West Virginia	55.4%
Mississippi	53.7%
Montana	46.6%
Arkansas	44.5%
South Dakota	42.8%
Alabama	42.3%
New Hampshire	41.7%
Kentucky	41.3%
North Dakota	39.0%
Wyoming	38.0%
Iowa	36.9%
Oklahoma	35.4%
Alaska	35.1%
Tennessee	33.8%
North Carolina	33.3%
Wisconsin	32.9%
South Carolina	32.1%
Idaho	30.8%
Missouri	30.5%
Indiana	28.8%
Louisiana	28.5%
Minnesota	28.1%
Kansas	27.7%
Nebraska	27.0%
Michigan	26.5%
Georgia	25.9%
New Mexico	25.5%
Virginia	24.4%
Ohio	23.7%
Pennsylvania	23.6%
Oregon	19.5%
Delaware	17.4%
Washington	16.6%
Texas	16.3%
Maryland	14.4%
Colorado	14.0%
Hawaii	13.9%
Connecticut	13.8%
Illinois	13.1%
New York	12.6%
Arizona	10.7%
Utah	10.2%
Rhode Island	9.0%
Massachusetts	8.7%
Florida	8.5%
New Jersey	6.3%
Nevada	5.9%
California	5.8%
District of Columbia	0.0%

A large rural share does not make Kentucky sparsely settled. With 116.7 people per square mile, Kentucky is the 25th most densely populated state, 21% above the US figure (96.7 people per square mile)¹⁴. The housing stock has a rural profile: 10.3% of homes are mobile homes (5.0 percentage points above the US figure (5.3%)) and 67.4% are single-family houses (6.5 percentage points above the US figure (60.9%)¹⁵). Only 0.6% of workers commute by public transit and 75.5%¹⁶ drive alone, while the average trip to work takes 24.5 minutes, 2.9 minutes below the US figure (27.4 minutes)¹⁷.

4.6 million residents, the most on record

Kentucky had 4,606,864 residents on July 1, 2025, the 26th largest population among the states and DC and 1.35% of the US total. Every annual estimate since the 2020 Census has been a new high. The state added 100,577 people from April 2020 to July 2025, a growth of 2.23%, 0.9 percentage points below the US figure (3.10%)¹.

Source: Census Bureau, Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals by Race, 1790 to 1990; Census Bureau, 2020 Census apportionment results and historical resident population 1910-2020; Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Census counts every ten years (April 1); estimates for July 1 after 2020.

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Year	Kentucky
1790	73,677
1800	220,955
1810	406,511
1820	564,317
1830	687,917
1840	779,828
1850	982,405
1860	1,155,684
1870	1,321,011
1880	1,648,690
1890	1,858,635
1900	2,147,174
1910	2,289,905
1920	2,416,630
1930	2,614,589
1940	2,845,627
1950	2,944,806
1960	3,038,156
1970	3,218,706
1980	3,660,777
1990	3,685,296
2000	4,041,769
2010	4,339,367
2020	4,505,836
2021	4,508,348
2022	4,521,238
2023	4,549,953
2024	4,584,046
2025	4,606,864

The first census, in 1790, counted 73,677 people in the area that is now Kentucky. By 1820 the count was 564,317, ranking 6th of 29 among the present states counted that year, and Kentucky held sixth place through 1840. Growth then slowed relative to the rest of the country. Kentucky ranked 12th of 51 in 1900, 22nd of 51¹⁸ in 1960 and 26th of 51⁶ in 2020. Today's population is 1.6 times¹ the 1950 count. After the 2020 Census the state kept its 6¹⁹ seats in the House of Representatives.

High birth rates, more deaths than births

Kentucky women have more children than women in most states. The total fertility rate, the number of children a woman would have at current birth rates, was 1.80 in 2024, tied for 5th highest and higher than every bordering state (Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia). The teen birth rate, 20.4 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19, was the 4th highest. Births are concentrated at younger ages: the rate for women aged 25 to 29 was 26% above the US figure (89.5 per 1,000 women aged 25 to 29), while the rate for women aged 30 to 34 was 5% below the US figure (93.7 per 1,000 women aged 30 to 34)²⁰.

Deaths are even more frequent. In the year to June 2025 Kentucky recorded 11.6 per 1,000 residents, a death rate tied for 5th highest and 27% above the US figure (9.1 per 1,000 residents), against a birth rate of 11.5 per 1,000 residents. The result was a natural change of −83, the smallest gap since 2020 but still a loss. Each year since 2020 has had more deaths than births, and the total from April 2020 to June 2025 was −18,600, the 10th lowest¹ figure among the states.

Births+274,520

Deaths−293,120

Net domestic migration+35,818

Net international migration+81,789

Residual (estimation adjustment)+1,570

Total change+100,577

Source: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Each bar starts where the previous one ended. The residual is the part of the change the Census Bureau cannot assign to a component.

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Component	People
Births	274,520
Deaths	−293,120
Net domestic migration	35,818
Net international migration	81,789
Residual (estimation adjustment)	1,570
Total change	100,577

Migration covered that loss and more. Since April 2020 Kentucky gained 35,818 people, net, from other states and 81,789 from abroad. In the year to June 2025, international migration made up 69% of the state's growth and movers from other states 32%¹, with natural change slightly negative.

A state of people born in Kentucky and the Midwest

In 2025, 65.2% of residents were born in Kentucky, 8.8 percentage points above the US figure (56.4%). The share born in the Midwest stands out: 13.1%, 6.2 percentage points above the US figure (6.9%), more than the 9.4%²¹ born elsewhere in the South. In the Census Bureau's 2024 survey of movers, the largest numbers of arrivals came from Ohio (14,376) and Tennessee (14,181); the most common destinations of people leaving were Ohio and Indiana. In all, 95,452 people moved in from other states that year and 81,862²² moved out.

Poverty among working-age adults

Kentucky's official poverty rate was 15.9% (±0.5 percentage points) in 2025, 4.1 percentage points above the US figure (11.8%) and a rate tied for 4th highest. What sets the state apart is poverty among people of working age (18 through 64): 15.4% (±0.4 percentage points) of them lived below the poverty line, the 4th highest rate (a rank between 2nd and 5th once sampling error is considered). The child poverty rate was 19.8% and the rate for residents 65 and older 13.1%. Each of these four rates is higher than Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia; not statistically different from West Virginia⁵.

Mississippi16.9% ±0.7

Louisiana16.1% ±0.6

West Virginia16.1% ±0.8

Kentucky15.4% ±0.4

New Mexico15.0% ±0.7

Arkansas13.8% ±0.6

Alabama13.7% ±0.4

Oklahoma13.7% ±0.4

District of Columbia13.1% ±1.3

New York12.4% ±0.2

United States10.8% ±0.1

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B17001. Whiskers show the 90% margin of error; states whose whiskers overlap may not differ significantly. Period: 2025.

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State	Poverty rate, ages 18 to 64	MOE
Mississippi	16.9%	±0.7
Louisiana	16.1%	±0.6
West Virginia	16.1%	±0.8
Kentucky	15.4%	±0.4
New Mexico	15.0%	±0.7
Arkansas	13.8%	±0.6
Alabama	13.7%	±0.4
Oklahoma	13.7%	±0.4
District of Columbia	13.1%	±1.3
New York	12.4%	±0.2
United States	10.8%	±0.1

Two related measures also stand out. 18.1% of residents have a disability, the 4th highest share and 4.4 percentage points above the US figure (13.7%)²³. And only 58.3% of people 16 and older were in the labor force in 2025, working or looking for work, the 7th lowest²⁴ rate.

Public aid reaches more of the poor than in most states. In the 2025 survey, 55.4% (±1.9 percentage points) of households below the poverty line received SNAP food benefits, 13.4 percentage points above the US figure (42.0%)²⁵. The Supplemental Poverty Measure, which counts benefits such as SNAP and subtracts medical and work expenses, puts Kentucky's rate for 2023 to 2025 at 13.2% (±1.6 percentage points), not statistically different from the US figure (13.0%). Under the official measure over the same years the state was 3.0 percentage points above the US figure (10.7%)²⁶. Once benefits and necessary expenses are counted, Kentucky's poverty rate is in line with the nation's.

Lower incomes, lower prices

The median household income was $66,447 (±$962) in 2025, $18,333 (22%) below the US figure ($84,780) and the 5th lowest among the states. It was not statistically different from $66,224 in 2024 (in 2025 dollars)⁴. Only 8.2% of households earned $200,000 or more, while 19.0%²⁷ earned less than $25,000.

Prices are lower too. The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Kentucky's regional price parity, a measure of the overall price level, at 90.2 for 2024 (US = 100), 10% below the US figure (100.0). The gap is widest for housing (64.3, 36% below the US figure (100.6)) and utilities (75.3, 23% below the US figure (98.4)); goods are 96.0, 4% below the US figure (99.6). After adjusting for these prices, personal income per resident was $52,290, still $6,905 (12%) below the US figure ($59,195)²⁸.

In 2025 dollars, the median home value was $191,032 in 2019 and $242,000 in 2025, while the median rent was $973¹² in 2019 and $1,072 in 2025. Over the last year alone the home value was up from $231,947 in 2024 (in 2025 dollars) and the rent up from $1,024 in 2024 (in 2025 dollars)³⁰. Both remain among the lowest in the country: the home value is the 7th least expensive and $129,100 (35%) below the US figure ($371,100)²⁹.

KentuckyUnited States

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2005-2019 and 2021-2025. ACS 1-year estimates; no standard 1-year release for 2020. Adjusted to 2025 dollars with the CPI-U annual average. Shaded band: 90% margin of error.

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Year	Kentucky	United States
2008	$177,044 ±$1,730	$295,472 ±$677
2009	$176,775 ±$1,861	$277,919 ±$494
2010	$179,533 ±$2,110	$265,609 ±$431
2011	$172,608 ±$1,676	$248,464 ±$361
2012	$169,389 ±$1,549	$241,043 ±$360
2013	$167,082 ±$1,862	$240,327 ±$310
2014	$168,359 ±$1,809	$246,418 ±$458
2015	$176,581 ±$1,745	$264,192 ±$394
2016	$181,892 ±$1,917	$274,985 ±$626
2017	$185,191 ±$2,126	$285,798 ±$574
2018	$189,878 ±$2,192	$294,497 ±$469
2019	$191,032 ±$1,750	$302,856 ±$568
2021	$205,900 ±$2,034	$334,335 ±$537
2022	$215,945 ±$2,829	$353,015 ±$684
2023	$223,784 ±$2,377	$359,450 ±$603
2024	$231,947 ±$2,680	$370,088 ±$634
2025	$242,000 ±$2,467	$371,100 ±$646

What percent of Kentucky is white, Black and Hispanic

In the 2025 survey, 78.7% of Kentuckians were non-Hispanic white, down from 80.3% in 2024. Non-Hispanic Black residents were 7.7%, up from 7.0% in 2024, and Hispanic or Latino residents of any race 5.8%, up from 5.5% in 2024. Non-Hispanic Asian residents were 2.0% and people of two or more races 5.0%².

Single group (adds to 100%)Alone or in combination with other races

White, not Hispanic78.7% 87.5%

Black, not Hispanic7.7% 10.3%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)5.8%

Two or more races, not Hispanic5.0%

Asian, not Hispanic2.0% 2.8%

Some other race, not Hispanic0.4%

American Indian and Alaska Native, not Hispanic0.2% 2.4%

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, not Hispanic0.1% 0.3%

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B03002; Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B02009. The dark bars are mutually exclusive and add to 100%. The light bars count everyone who reported the race, alone or with another race and of any ethnicity, so they overlap and add to more than 100%.

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Group	Share (single group)	MOE	Alone or in combination
White, not Hispanic	78.7%	±0.1	87.5%
Black, not Hispanic	7.7%	±0.2	10.3%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	5.8%	±0.1	–
Two or more races, not Hispanic	5.0%	±0.3	–
Asian, not Hispanic	2.0%	±0.1	2.8%
Some other race, not Hispanic	0.4%	±0.1	–
American Indian and Alaska Native, not Hispanic	0.2%	±0.1	2.4%
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, not Hispanic	0.1%	±0.1	0.3%

On a diversity index, the chance that two residents chosen at random belong to different groups, Kentucky scores 36.8, the 8th least diverse³² state. Counting people who report a race alone or with another, 10.3%³¹ of residents are Black and 2.4%³³ identify as American Indian or Alaska Native. The 2020 Census counted 31,725 people who gave the general answer "Cherokee³⁴", alone or with another group.

Baptist Kentucky

Kentucky's churches are dominated by one denomination. In the 2020 U.S. Religion Census the Southern Baptist Convention counted 904,352 adherents in 2,530 churches, 20.1% of residents and 40.6% of everyone on a congregation's books. Evangelical Protestant churches together counted 31.4%, the 6th highest share; Catholic parishes counted 7.9%³⁵.

Christian congregations counted 48.7% of Kentuckians in all, and synagogues 4,320 members. With 18.1 per 10,000 residents, Kentucky ranks tied for 9th highest³⁵ for congregations per resident. The figures are kept by congregations, not reported by residents, so they measure affiliation rather than faith (religion overview).

The third-shortest life expectancy

A baby born in Kentucky in 2022 could expect to live 73.6 years, 3.9 years below the US figure (77.5 years) and the 3rd shortest life expectancy of any state. Women's life expectancy, 76.2 years, was also the 3rd shortest; men's, 71.1 years, was the 6th shortest³⁶.

Illinois80.3

United States80.2

Virginia79.9

Ohio78.3

Indiana78.2

Missouri78.1

Tennessee76.9

Kentucky76.2

West Virginia75.1

Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. State Life Tables, 2022. Period: 2022.

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State	Women
Illinois	80.3
United States	80.2
Virginia	79.9
Ohio	78.3
Indiana	78.2
Missouri	78.1
Tennessee	76.9
Kentucky	76.2
West Virginia	75.1

Several risk measures are above the national level. The drug overdose death rate was 33.5 per 100,000, age-adjusted in 2024, 45% above the US figure (23.1 per 100,000, age-adjusted). 17.2% of adults smoked in 2024, 5.6 percentage points above the US figure (11.6%), and 37.2% had obesity, 3.0 percentage points above the US figure (34.2%)³⁸. The leading causes of death were Heart disease, Cancer and Chronic lower respiratory disease. Infant mortality, 5.9 per 1,000 live births³⁷, was near the middle of the states.

Graduation rates near the top, degrees near the bottom

90% of public high school students who started ninth grade in 2018–19 graduated within four years, a rate tied for 2nd highest³⁹. Among adults 25 and older, though, only 28.7% (±0.6 percentage points) held a bachelor's degree or higher in 2025, 8.7 percentage points below the US figure (37.4%) and a share tied for 4th lowest⁴⁰. The two numbers describe different generations: the graduation rate covers recent students, the degree share all adults.

KentuckyUnited States

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2005-2019 and 2021-2025. ACS 1-year estimates; no standard 1-year release for 2020. Shaded band: 90% margin of error.

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Year	Kentucky	United States
2005	19.3% ±0.4	27.2% ±0.1
2006	20.0% ±0.4	27.0% ±0.1
2007	20.0% ±0.4	27.5% ±0.1
2008	19.7% ±0.3	27.7% ±0.1
2009	21.0% ±0.4	27.9% ±0.1
2010	20.5% ±0.4	28.2% ±0.1
2011	21.1% ±0.4	28.5% ±0.1
2012	21.8% ±0.4	29.1% ±0.1
2013	22.6% ±0.4	29.6% ±0.1
2014	22.2% ±0.4	30.1% ±0.1
2015	23.3% ±0.4	30.6% ±0.1
2016	23.4% ±0.4	31.3% ±0.1
2017	24.0% ±0.4	32.0% ±0.1
2018	24.8% ±0.4	32.6% ±0.1
2019	25.1% ±0.4	33.1% ±0.1
2021	27.0% ±0.5	35.0% ±0.1
2022	27.9% ±0.4	35.7% ±0.1
2023	27.8% ±0.5	36.2% ±0.1
2024	27.9% ±0.5	36.8% ±0.1
2025	28.7% ±0.5	37.4% ±0.1

The degree share has grown from 19.3% in 2005 and was up from 27.9% in 2024⁴⁰. The national share grew as well, from 27.2%¹² in 2005, so the gap has not narrowed.

Marriage, divorce and grandparents raising children

Kentuckians are more likely to marry than most Americans. Only 30.6% of people 15 and older have never married, 4.2 percentage points below the US figure (34.8%), and the marriage rate of 7.0 per 1,000 residents in 2024 was 11% above the US figure (6.3 per 1,000 residents). Divorce is common as well: 12.2% of people 15 and older are divorced, a share tied for 6th highest⁴¹, and the divorce rate of 2.9 per 1,000 residents is higher than every bordering state (Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia)⁴².

Many grandparents are raising grandchildren. Among grandparents who live with their grandchildren, 43.4% (±3.0 percentage points) are responsible for them, 13.4 percentage points above the US figure (30.0%). The share was down from 50.6% in 2024⁴³.

Households are smaller than the national average, at 2.38⁴⁴ people, and 68.2%⁴⁵ own their home.

English, German and "American" roots

In the 2020–2024 survey, the most common ancestries reported were English (14.5%), German (12.7%), American (11.5%) and Irish (11.0%⁴⁶). "American" is the answer of people who report their ancestry simply as American.

Immigrants make up 5.7% of the population, 9.0 percentage points below the US figure (14.7%), up from 5.2% in 2024. A larger share of them were born in Africa than nationally: 13.7%, 7.8 percentage points above the US figure (5.9%)²¹. After English, the languages most often spoken at home in 2020–2024 were Spanish (146,717 speakers aged 5 and older), German (12,379) and a Census Bureau group of African languages, "Swahili or other languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa" (11,502⁴⁸).

Work and veterans

Unemployment averaged 4.6% in 2025, 0.3 percentage points above the US figure (4.3%)²⁴. Kentucky had 234,003 veterans in 2025, 6.5% of adults, 0.6 percentage points above the US figure (5.9%)⁴⁹. The share of workers who worked from home was 9.7%, 3.2 percentage points below the US figure (12.9%)¹⁶.