Editing Kentucky (section)

==Administrative divisions==

===Counties===

{{See also|List of counties in Kentucky|Fiscal Court}}

Kentucky is subdivided into 120 [[county (United States)|counties]], the largest being [[Pike County, Kentucky|Pike County]] at {{convert|787.6|sqmi|km2}}, and the most populous being [[Jefferson County, Kentucky|Jefferson County]] (which [[Consolidated city–county|coincides with]] the [[Louisville Metro Council|Louisville Metro governmental area]]) with 772,144 residents {{as of|2023|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kentucky Counties |url=http://www.uky.edu/KentuckyAtlas/kentucky-counties.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706080928/http://www.uky.edu/KentuckyAtlas/kentucky-counties.html |archive-date=July 6, 2013 |website=Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer |publisher=University of Kentucky}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html#v2023|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 14, 2024|archive-date=March 18, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318232436/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html#v2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

County government, under the [[Constitution of Kentucky|Kentucky Constitution]] of 1891, is vested in the [[County Judge/Executive]], (formerly called the County Judge) who serves as the [[Executive (government)|executive]] head of the county, and a [[legislature]] called a [[Fiscal Court]]. Despite the unusual name, the Fiscal Court no longer has [[judiciary|judicial]] functions.

===Consolidated city-county governments===

Kentucky's two most populous counties, Jefferson and Fayette, have their [[Consolidated city-county|governments consolidated with the governments of their largest cities]]. ''Louisville-Jefferson County Government'' ([[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville Metro]]) and ''Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government'' ([[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington Metro]]) are unique in that their city councils and county Fiscal Court structures have been merged into a single entity with a single [[mayor|chief executive]], the [[Louisville Metro Mayor|Metro Mayor]] and Urban County Mayor, respectively. Although the counties still exist as subdivisions of the state, in reference the names Louisville and Lexington are used to refer to the entire area coextensive with the former cities and counties.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cgr.org/consensuscny/docs/CaseStudies_cd-louisvillemerger1013.pdf |title=A 10-Year Perspective of the Merger of Louisville and Jefferson County, KY: Louisville Metro Vaults From 65th to 18th Largest City in the Nation |last=Wachter |first=Jeff |publisher=CGR |date=September 2013 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-date=February 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214082623/https://www.cgr.org/consensuscny/docs/CaseStudies_cd-louisvillemerger1013.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://louisvilleky.gov/government/metro-council-district-17/what-metro-council |title=What is Metro Council? |publisher=Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government |access-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-date=December 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217185605/https://louisvilleky.gov/government/metro-council-district-17/what-metro-council |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Organizational structure, system and positions |url=https://www.lexingtonky.gov/organizational-structure-system-and-positions |access-date=December 17, 2023 |publisher=Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government |archive-date=December 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217185604/https://www.lexingtonky.gov/organizational-structure-system-and-positions |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Major cities===

{{See also|List of cities in Kentucky}}
{{Largest cities
| country = Kentucky
| stat_ref = Source:<ref name="USCensusEst2022">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html|date=May 18, 2023|title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020–2022|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=June 23, 2023|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711040810/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| list_by_pop =
| div_name =
| div_link = Counties of Kentucky{{!}}County
| city_1 = Louisville, Kentucky{{!}}Louisville
| div_1 = Jefferson County, Kentucky{{!}}Jefferson
| pop_1 = 633,045
| img_1 = Louisville Skyline 2021 (3).jpg
| city_2 = Lexington, Kentucky{{!}}Lexington
| div_2 = Fayette County, Kentucky{{!}}Fayette
| pop_2 = 322,570
| img_2 = LexingtonDowntown.JPG
| city_3 = Bowling Green, Kentucky{{!}}Bowling Green
| div_3 = Warren County, Kentucky{{!}}Warren
| pop_3 = 72,294
| img_3 = Shops_along_Fountain_Square_in_Bowling_Green,_Kentucky_2008.JPG
| city_4 = Owensboro, Kentucky{{!}}Owensboro
| div_4 = Daviess County, Kentucky{{!}}Daviess
| pop_4 = 60,183
| img_4 = Owensboro2ndStAnn.JPG
| city_5 = Covington, Kentucky{{!}}Covington
| div_5 = Kenton County, Kentucky{{!}}Kenton
| pop_5 = 40,961
| img_5 =
| city_6 = Georgetown, Kentucky{{!}}Georgetown
| div_6 = Scott County, Kentucky{{!}}Scott
| pop_6 = 37,086
| img_6 =
| city_7 = Richmond, Kentucky{{!}}Richmond
| div_7 = Madison County, Kentucky{{!}}Madison
| pop_7 = 34,585
| img_7 =
| city_8 = Florence, Kentucky{{!}}Florence
| div_8 = Boone County, Kentucky{{!}}Boone
| pop_8 = 31,946
| img_8 =
| city_9 = Elizabethtown, Kentucky{{!}}Elizabethtown
| div_9 = Hardin County, Kentucky{{!}}Hardin
| pop_9 = 31,394
| img_9 =
| city_10 = Hopkinsville, Kentucky{{!}}Hopkinsville
| div_10 = Christian County, Kentucky{{!}}Christian
| pop_10 = 31,180
| img_10 =
| city_11 = Nicholasville, Kentucky{{!}}Nicholasville
| div_11 = Jessamine County, Kentucky{{!}}Jessamine
| pop_11 = 31,093
| img_11 = 
| city_12 = Independence, Kentucky{{!}}Independence
| div_12 = Kenton County, Kentucky{{!}}Kenton
| pop_12 = 28,676
| img_12 =
| city_13 = Frankfort, Kentucky{{!}}Frankfort
| div_13 = Franklin County, Kentucky{{!}}Franklin
| pop_13 = 28,602
| img_13 =
| city_14 = Jeffersontown, Kentucky{{!}}Jeffersontown
| div_14 = Jefferson County, Kentucky{{!}}Jefferson
| pop_14 = 28,474
| img_14 =
| city_15 = Henderson, Kentucky{{!}}Henderson
| div_15 = Henderson County, Kentucky{{!}}Henderson
| pop_15 = 27,981
| img_15 =
| city_16 = Paducah, Kentucky{{!}}Paducah
| div_16 = McCracken County, Kentucky{{!}}McCracken
| pop_16 = 27,137
| img_16 =
| city_17 = Radcliff, Kentucky{{!}}Radcliff
| div_17 = Hardin County, Kentucky{{!}}Hardin
| pop_17 = 23,042
| img_17 =
| city_18 = Ashland, Kentucky{{!}}Ashland
| div_18 = Boyd County, Kentucky{{!}}Boyd
| pop_18 = 21,625
| img_18 =
| city_19 = Erlanger, Kentucky{{!}}Erlanger
| div_19 = Kenton County, Kentucky{{!}}Kenton
| pop_19 = 19,611
| img_19 =
| city_20 = Madisonville, Kentucky{{!}}Madisonville
| div_20 = Hopkins County, Kentucky{{!}}Hopkins
| pop_20 = 19,542
| img_20 =
}}

The [[Louisville metropolitan area|Metro Louisville]] government area has a 2018 population of 1,298,990. Under [[United States Census Bureau]] methodology, the population of Louisville was 623,867. The latter figure is the population of the so-called [[Louisville/Jefferson County metro government (balance), Kentucky|"balance"]]{{snd}}the parts of Jefferson County that were either unincorporated or within the City of Louisville before the formation of the merged government in 2003. In 2018 the [[Louisville metropolitan area|Louisville Combined Statistical Area]] (CSA) had a population of 1,569,112; including 1,209,191 in Kentucky, which means more than 25% of the state's population now lives in the Louisville CSA. Since 2000, over one-third of the state's population growth has occurred in the Louisville CSA. In addition, the top 28 wealthiest places in Kentucky are in Jefferson County and seven of the 15 wealthiest counties in the state are located in the Louisville CSA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ksdc.louisville.edu/|title=Kentucky State Data Center|publisher=Ksdc.louisville.edu|access-date=August 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828171408/http://www.ksdc.louisville.edu/|archive-date=August 28, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Nonspecific|date=March 2017}}

The state's second-largest city is Lexington with a 2018 census population of 323,780, its metro had a population of 516,697, and its [[Lexington–Fayette–Frankfort–Richmond, KY Combined Statistical Area|CSA]], which includes the [[Frankfort, Kentucky micropolitan area|Frankfort]] and [[Richmond–Berea micropolitan area|Richmond]] statistical areas, having a population of 746,310. The [[Northern Kentucky]] area, which comprises the seven Kentucky counties in the [[Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky metropolitan area]], had a population of 447,457 in 2018. The metropolitan areas of Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky have a combined population of 2,402,958 {{as of|2018|lc=y}}, which is 54% of the state's total population on only about 19% of the state's land. This area is often referred to as the Golden triangle as it contains a majority of the state's wealth, population, population growth, and economic growth, it is where most of the state's largest cities by population are located. It is referred to as the Golden triangle as the metro areas of Lexington, Louisville, and Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati outline a triangle shape. Interstates I-71, I-75, and I-64 form the triangle shape. Additionally, all counties in Kentucky that are part of an MSA or CSA have a total population of 2,970,694, which is 67% of the state's population.

{{as of|2017}} [[Bowling Green, Kentucky|Bowling Green]] had a population of 67,067, making it the third most populous city in the state. The [[Bowling Green metropolitan area]] had an estimated population of 174,835; and the [[combined statistical area]] it shares with [[Glasgow, Kentucky|Glasgow]] has an estimated population of 228,743.

The two other fast-growing urban areas in Kentucky are the [[Bowling Green, Kentucky|Bowling Green]] area and the "Tri-Cities Region" of southeastern Kentucky, comprising [[Somerset, Kentucky|Somerset]], [[London, Kentucky|London]] and [[Corbin, Kentucky|Corbin]].

Although only one town in the "Tri-Cities" (Somerset) currently has more than 12,000 people, the area has been experiencing heightened population and job growth since the 1990s. Growth has been especially rapid in Laurel County, which outgrew areas such as Scott and Jessamine counties around Lexington or Shelby and Nelson Counties around Louisville. London significantly grew in population in the 2000s, from 5,692 in 2000 to 7,993 in 2010. London landed a [[Walmart|Wal-Mart]] distribution center in 1997, bringing thousands of jobs to the community.

In northeast Kentucky, the greater [[Ashland, Kentucky|Ashland]] area is an important transportation, manufacturing, and medical center. [[Iron and steel industry|Iron]] and [[petroleum]] production, as well as the transport of coal by rail and [[barge]], have been historical pillars of the region's economy. Due to a decline in the area's industrial base, Ashland has seen a sizable reduction in its population since 1990; however, the population of the area has since stabilized with the medical service industry taking a greater role in the local economy. The Ashland area, including the counties of [[Boyd County, Kentucky|Boyd]] and [[Greenup County, Kentucky|Greenup]], is part of the [[Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area]] (MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649. More than 21,000 of those people ({{as of|2010|lc=y}}) reside within the city limits of Ashland.

The largest county in Kentucky by area is [[Pike County, Kentucky|Pike]], which contains [[Pikeville, Kentucky|Pikeville]] and suburb [[Coal Run Village, Kentucky|Coal Run Village]]. The county and surrounding area is the most populated region in the state that is not part of a [[United States Micropolitan Statistical Area|Micropolitan Statistical Area]] or a [[Metropolitan Statistical Area]] containing nearly 200,000 people in five counties: [[Floyd County, Kentucky|Floyd County]], [[Martin County, Kentucky|Martin County]], [[Letcher County, Kentucky|Letcher County]], and neighboring [[Mingo County, West Virginia]]. Pike County contains slightly more than 68,000 people.

Only three U.S. states have capitals with smaller populations than Kentucky's [[Frankfort, Kentucky|Frankfort]] (pop. 25,527): [[Augusta, Maine]] (pop. 18,560), [[Pierre, South Dakota]] (pop. 13,876), and [[Montpelier, Vermont]] (pop. 8,035).