Gayest places in Kentucky research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to research the cities in Kentucky with the highest percent of same-sex households for 2026. The data comes from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year vintage, which counts same-sex married spouses and same-sex unmarried partners at the city level.
4.8% gay households · #1 gayest in Kentucky
4.0% gay households · #2 gayest in Kentucky
2.9% gay households · #3 gayest in Kentucky
Located in
Madison County, Kentucky
Berea is a home rule-class city in Madison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The town is best known for its art festivals, historic restaurants and buildings, and as the home to Berea College, a private, liberal arts college. The population was 13,561 at the 2010 census. It is one of the fastest-growing towns in Kentucky, having increased by 27.4% since 2000.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.8% gay households · #4 gayest in Kentucky
Located in
Jessamine County, Kentucky
Nicholasville is a home rule city in Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 28,015 during the 2010 U.S. Census, making Nicholasville the 11th-largest settlement in the state.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.6% gay households · #5 gayest in Kentucky
2.4% gay households · #6 gayest in Kentucky
Data | Movers
2.3% gay households · #7 gayest in Kentucky
Located in
Kenton County, Kentucky
Covington is a city in Kenton County, Kentucky, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its north across the Ohio and Newport, Kentucky, to its east across the Licking. Part of the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area, Covington had a population of 40,640 at the time of the 2010 U.S. census, making it the fifth-most populous city in Kentucky. It is one of its county’s two seats, along with Independence.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.1% gay households · #8 gayest in Kentucky
Located in
Graves County, Kentucky
Mayfield is a home rule-class city in Graves County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 10,024 as of the 2010 U.S. census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.0% gay households · #9 gayest in Kentucky
Williamsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Whitley County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,245 at the 2010 census. The city was founded in 1818 and named after William Whitley. The Cumberland River flows through the city.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.9% gay households · #10 gayest in Kentucky
Located in
Simpson County, Kentucky
Franklin is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Simpson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,408 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Kentucky’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Kentucky’s LGBTQ households are
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the gayest places in Kentucky for 2026
In order to rank the gayest cities in Kentucky, we used Saturday Night Science and the 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the U.S. Census. We looked at:
- Percentage of all households that are unmarried, same-sex partners
We limited the analysis to non-CDPs that have over 1,000 households.
We ranked each place from 1 to 128 with the city containing the highest percentage of unmarried, same-sex partner households being the most gay.
In the end, Brandenburg ended up being the most gay place with 4.8% gay households.
Skip to the end to see the list of all the places in the state from gayest to straightest.
We updated this report for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the gayest places in Kentucky.
The full plate
Gayest Places In Kentucky
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Households | LGBTQ Households | % Gay Households |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandenburg | 1,143 | 55 | 4.8% |
| 2 | Providence | 1,171 | 47 | 4.0% |
| 3 | Berea | 5,519 | 162 | 2.9% |
| 4 | Nicholasville | 12,131 | 339 | 2.8% |
| 5 | Graymoor-Devondale | 1,232 | 32 | 2.6% |
| 6 | Barbourville | 1,185 | 29 | 2.4% |
| 7 | Covington | 18,265 | 427 | 2.3% |
| 8 | Mayfield | 4,429 | 91 | 2.1% |
| 9 | Williamsburg | 1,617 | 32 | 2.0% |
| 10 | Franklin | 3,991 | 75 | 1.9% |
| 11 | Paducah | 11,741 | 216 | 1.8% |
| 12 | Crestview Hills | 1,156 | 21 | 1.8% |
| 13 | Corbin | 3,128 | 56 | 1.8% |
| 14 | Elizabethtown | 13,684 | 239 | 1.7% |
| 15 | Radcliff | 9,592 | 164 | 1.7% |
| 16 | Bellevue | 2,745 | 41 | 1.5% |
| 17 | Leitchfield | 2,741 | 40 | 1.5% |
| 18 | Somerset | 4,951 | 70 | 1.4% |
| 19 | Park Hills | 1,377 | 19 | 1.4% |
| 20 | Indian Hills | 1,278 | 16 | 1.3% |
| 21 | Richmond | 15,202 | 190 | 1.2% |
| 22 | Jeffersontown | 12,479 | 155 | 1.2% |
| 23 | Newport | 6,965 | 86 | 1.2% |
| 24 | Hurstbourne | 1,798 | 22 | 1.2% |
| 25 | Murray | 6,802 | 82 | 1.2% |
| 26 | Frankfort | 12,906 | 153 | 1.2% |
| 27 | Marion | 1,194 | 14 | 1.2% |
| 28 | Shelbyville | 6,672 | 74 | 1.1% |
| 29 | Dayton | 2,533 | 28 | 1.1% |
| 30 | Highland Heights | 2,528 | 27 | 1.1% |
| 31 | Villa Hills | 2,739 | 29 | 1.1% |
| 32 | Prestonsburg | 1,618 | 17 | 1.1% |
| 33 | Alexandria | 3,732 | 38 | 1.0% |
| 34 | Cynthiana | 2,461 | 25 | 1.0% |
| 35 | Morehead | 1,854 | 18 | 1.0% |
| 36 | Monticello | 2,385 | 23 | 1.0% |
| 37 | Owensboro | 25,451 | 244 | 1.0% |
| 38 | Williamstown | 1,263 | 12 | 1.0% |
| 39 | Bowling Green | 30,633 | 279 | 0.9% |
| 40 | Scottsville | 1,757 | 16 | 0.9% |
| 41 | Raceland | 1,104 | 10 | 0.9% |
| 42 | La Grange | 3,777 | 34 | 0.9% |
| 43 | Harlan | 1,047 | 9 | 0.9% |
| 44 | Georgetown | 14,899 | 122 | 0.8% |
| 45 | Prospect | 1,958 | 16 | 0.8% |
| 46 | Edgewood | 3,318 | 27 | 0.8% |
| 47 | Southgate | 1,735 | 13 | 0.7% |
| 48 | Cold Spring | 2,996 | 22 | 0.7% |
| 49 | Florence | 13,926 | 102 | 0.7% |
| 50 | Shepherdsville | 5,491 | 40 | 0.7% |
| 51 | Fort Mitchell | 3,594 | 26 | 0.7% |
| 52 | Mount Sterling | 3,071 | 22 | 0.7% |
| 53 | Columbia | 1,567 | 11 | 0.7% |
| 54 | Fort Thomas | 6,568 | 46 | 0.7% |
| 55 | Middlesborough | 4,082 | 28 | 0.7% |
| 56 | Union | 2,626 | 18 | 0.7% |
| 57 | Hardinsburg | 1,023 | 7 | 0.7% |
| 58 | Versailles | 4,338 | 29 | 0.7% |
| 59 | Douglass Hills | 2,715 | 18 | 0.7% |
| 60 | Crestwood | 2,447 | 16 | 0.7% |
| 61 | Bardstown | 5,677 | 37 | 0.7% |
| 62 | Hopkinsville | 12,553 | 81 | 0.6% |
| 63 | St. Matthews | 8,772 | 51 | 0.6% |
| 64 | Ashland | 9,439 | 52 | 0.6% |
| 65 | Dry Ridge | 1,024 | 5 | 0.5% |
| 66 | Simpsonville | 1,255 | 6 | 0.5% |
| 67 | Greenville | 1,896 | 9 | 0.5% |
| 68 | Shively | 6,786 | 31 | 0.5% |
| 69 | Irvine | 1,184 | 5 | 0.4% |
| 70 | Flatwoods | 2,866 | 12 | 0.4% |
| 71 | Elsmere | 3,400 | 13 | 0.4% |
| 72 | Campbellsville | 4,863 | 18 | 0.4% |
| 73 | Eminence | 1,089 | 4 | 0.4% |
| 74 | Independence | 9,813 | 36 | 0.4% |
| 75 | Erlanger | 7,792 | 28 | 0.4% |
| 76 | Danville | 6,968 | 25 | 0.4% |
| 77 | Henderson | 12,341 | 44 | 0.4% |
| 78 | Lyndon | 5,759 | 20 | 0.3% |
| 79 | Princeton | 2,367 | 7 | 0.3% |
| 80 | Glasgow | 6,299 | 18 | 0.3% |
| 81 | Ludlow | 1,912 | 5 | 0.3% |
| 82 | Fort Wright | 2,315 | 6 | 0.3% |
| 83 | London | 3,135 | 8 | 0.3% |
| 84 | Pikeville | 3,323 | 8 | 0.2% |
| 85 | Winchester | 8,551 | 19 | 0.2% |
| 86 | Middletown | 4,405 | 9 | 0.2% |
| 87 | Madisonville | 8,271 | 15 | 0.2% |
| 88 | Harrodsburg | 4,150 | 7 | 0.2% |
| 89 | Paris | 4,153 | 7 | 0.2% |
| 90 | Mount Washington | 6,936 | 3 | 0.0% |
| 91 | Hurstbourne Acres | 1,031 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 92 | Lancaster | 1,494 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 93 | Calvert City | 1,115 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 94 | Lawrenceburg | 4,518 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 95 | Walton | 1,697 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 96 | Russell Springs | 1,346 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 97 | Carrollton | 1,562 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 98 | Beaver Dam | 1,304 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 99 | Benton | 1,938 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 100 | Stanton | 1,223 | 0 | 0.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. Places with over 1,000 households.
Summary
There You Have It – The Most LGBT Friendly Cities In Kentucky For 2026
If you’re looking at the number of gay households in Kentucky, this is an accurate list.
The gayest cities in Kentucky are Brandenburg, Providence, Berea, Nicholasville, Graymoor-Devondale, Barbourville, Covington, Mayfield, Williamsburg, and Franklin. Not sold on Kentucky? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
