Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Kentucky a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Kentucky.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Bluegrass State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Kentucky, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 120 counties in the state.
Oldham County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Kentucky. And you should avoid Knox County if you can — at least according to the data.
$122,497 median income · 3.5% unemployment
$99,414 median income · 3.1% unemployment
$80,558 median income · 4.3% unemployment
$102,618 median income · 5.0% unemployment
$74,488 median income · 2.2% unemployment
$85,158 median income · 4.3% unemployment
$83,788 median income · 2.5% unemployment
$77,567 median income · 4.0% unemployment
$80,548 median income · 4.3% unemployment
$69,562 median income · 3.3% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Kentucky’s statewide median.
Kentucky statewide median: $63,726
Kentucky statewide median: $231,894
Kentucky statewide median: 4.9%
On the map
Where Kentucky’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which Kentucky county is the best?
To give you the best county in Kentucky, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in Kentucky across each of the criteria from one to 120, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Kentucky.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Bluegrass State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in Kentucky.
Read on to see why Oldham County is the best county, while Knox County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Kentucky.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Kentucky
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oldham County | 69,257 | $122,497 | $441,311 |
| 2 | Boone County | 139,841 | $99,414 | $342,671 |
| 3 | Bullitt County | 84,027 | $80,558 | $295,711 |
| 4 | Spencer County | 20,193 | $102,618 | $369,356 |
| 4 | Anderson County | 24,353 | $74,488 | $256,240 |
| 6 | Scott County | 59,536 | $85,158 | $338,690 |
| 7 | Woodford County | 27,279 | $83,788 | $343,458 |
| 8 | Campbell County | 93,426 | $77,567 | $291,569 |
| 9 | Kenton County | 171,288 | $80,548 | $282,910 |
| 10 | Nelson County | 47,606 | $69,562 | $266,251 |
| 11 | Harrison County | 19,140 | $66,442 | $235,480 |
| 12 | Shelby County | 49,096 | $82,604 | $323,519 |
| 13 | Jessamine County | 54,588 | $74,576 | $320,971 |
| 14 | Mercer County | 23,028 | $64,824 | $238,831 |
| 15 | Meade County | 30,158 | $74,355 | $282,335 |
| 16 | Bourbon County | 20,240 | $61,354 | $248,557 |
| 17 | Larue County | 15,107 | $67,067 | $221,880 |
| 18 | Ballard County | 7,654 | $66,164 | $130,038 |
| 19 | Henderson County | 44,280 | $58,851 | $200,774 |
| 20 | Clark County | 37,192 | $64,348 | $259,293 |
| 21 | Grant County | 25,418 | $69,178 | $283,036 |
| 21 | McCracken County | 67,564 | $64,373 | $193,182 |
| 23 | Jefferson County | 783,022 | $69,866 | $264,190 |
| 24 | McLean County | 9,114 | $65,596 | $153,568 |
| 25 | Fayette County | 323,725 | $69,479 | $328,843 |
| 26 | Daviess County | 103,648 | $68,214 | $215,146 |
| 27 | Lyon County | 8,900 | $65,066 | $177,159 |
| 28 | Hancock County | 9,034 | $65,464 | $203,527 |
| 29 | Franklin County | 51,842 | $65,298 | $239,680 |
| 30 | Hardin County | 111,942 | $67,647 | $245,407 |
| 31 | Madison County | 95,769 | $63,351 | $281,530 |
| 32 | Marion County | 19,749 | $59,627 | $235,197 |
| 33 | Washington County | 12,140 | $61,616 | $250,389 |
| 34 | Bracken County | 8,444 | $66,319 | $202,626 |
| 35 | Trimble County | 8,550 | $66,027 | $237,024 |
| 36 | Taylor County | 26,397 | $60,456 | $207,412 |
| 37 | Warren County | 140,918 | $65,794 | $294,047 |
| 38 | Simpson County | 19,972 | $59,858 | $253,149 |
| 39 | Carlisle County | 4,762 | $62,439 | $136,908 |
| 40 | Marshall County | 31,743 | $65,831 | $200,096 |
| 41 | Boyle County | 30,941 | $61,159 | $241,155 |
| 42 | Webster County | 12,842 | $59,628 | $144,024 |
| 43 | Henry County | 15,856 | $63,347 | $250,392 |
| 44 | Union County | 13,260 | $60,327 | $133,741 |
| 45 | Garrard County | 17,568 | $63,087 | $291,731 |
| 46 | Livingston County | 8,903 | $58,984 | $144,381 |
| 47 | Montgomery County | 28,395 | $56,396 | $226,507 |
| 48 | Pendleton County | 14,723 | $64,669 | $239,967 |
| 49 | Nicholas County | 7,708 | $59,531 | $199,884 |
| 50 | Boyd County | 47,911 | $61,118 | $130,494 |
| 51 | Gallatin County | 8,769 | $63,346 | $211,484 |
| 52 | Robertson County | 2,283 | $51,830 | $204,774 |
| 53 | Calloway County | 38,224 | $52,706 | $165,374 |
| 53 | Ohio County | 23,735 | $57,798 | $148,738 |
| 55 | Greenup County | 35,501 | $60,751 | $151,274 |
| 56 | Caldwell County | 12,618 | $59,583 | $148,729 |
| 56 | Allen County | 21,293 | $61,403 | $209,422 |
| 58 | Mason County | 16,956 | $52,178 | $166,856 |
| 59 | Graves County | 36,630 | $50,772 | $167,100 |
| 60 | Rowan County | 24,578 | $54,321 | $179,763 |
| 61 | Laurel County | 62,983 | $57,771 | $180,308 |
| 62 | Todd County | 12,469 | $61,103 | $221,369 |
| 63 | Logan County | 27,986 | $60,382 | $194,783 |
| 64 | Barren County | 44,938 | $50,628 | $212,440 |
| 65 | Hopkins County | 45,119 | $56,815 | $149,499 |
| 66 | Owen County | 11,330 | $61,134 | $174,606 |
| 67 | Pulaski County | 65,897 | $51,898 | $172,253 |
| 68 | Christian County | 72,069 | $55,494 | $205,858 |
| 69 | Hickman County | 4,439 | $60,867 | $122,762 |
| 70 | Monroe County | 11,269 | $51,280 | $144,851 |
| 71 | Muhlenberg County | 30,591 | $51,927 | $127,980 |
| 72 | Breckinridge County | 20,881 | $55,843 | $166,095 |
| 73 | Trigg County | 14,315 | $59,857 | $143,558 |
| 73 | Bath County | 12,851 | $56,541 | $173,428 |
| 75 | Morgan County | 14,053 | $47,913 | $136,292 |
| 76 | Edmonson County | 12,355 | $54,937 | $191,973 |
| 77 | Hart County | 19,603 | $52,285 | $185,516 |
| 78 | Fulton County | 6,409 | $38,217 | $85,860 |
| 79 | Green County | 11,369 | $46,798 | $188,888 |
| 80 | Metcalfe County | 10,425 | $51,473 | $170,421 |
| 81 | Crittenden County | 8,979 | $46,656 | $126,163 |
| 82 | Carter County | 26,341 | $51,235 | $159,697 |
| 83 | Butler County | 12,393 | $56,092 | $187,635 |
| 84 | Adair County | 19,089 | $53,553 | $170,019 |
| 85 | Lincoln County | 24,504 | $52,440 | $180,736 |
| 86 | Leslie County | 10,079 | $35,934 | $80,556 |
| 87 | Jackson County | 13,086 | $40,000 | $110,809 |
| 88 | Johnson County | 22,334 | $44,904 | $141,663 |
| 89 | Pike County | 56,727 | $44,312 | $100,849 |
| 90 | Wayne County | 19,602 | $45,739 | $167,851 |
| 91 | Fleming County | 15,323 | $49,307 | $178,561 |
| 91 | Clinton County | 9,202 | $44,844 | $157,826 |
| 93 | Lawrence County | 16,077 | $46,772 | $152,920 |
| 94 | Carroll County | 10,954 | $56,466 | $190,251 |
| 95 | Rockcastle County | 16,163 | $48,862 | $147,046 |
| 96 | Grayson County | 26,707 | $50,757 | $163,925 |
| 97 | Powell County | 13,038 | $40,309 | $152,341 |
| 98 | Perry County | 27,499 | $42,181 | $97,333 |
| 99 | Whitley County | 36,920 | $44,615 | $150,377 |
| 100 | Letcher County | 20,808 | $41,793 | $72,925 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 120 Kentucky counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In Kentucky To Call Home For 2026
Living in Kentucky can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in Kentucky are Oldham County, Boone County, Bullitt County, Spencer County, Anderson County, Scott County, Woodford County, Campbell County, Kenton County, and Nelson County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
