List of counties in Kentucky

This is a list of the one hundred and twenty  in the  of . Despite ranking 37th in size by area, Kentucky has 120 counties, third in the U.S. behind ' 254 and 's 159. The original motivation for having so many counties was to ensure that residents in the days of poor roads and horseback travel could make a round trip from their home to the county seat and back in a single day, as well as being able to travel from one county seat to the next in the same fashion. Later, however, politics began to play a part, with citizens who disagreed with the present county government simply petitioning the state to create a new county. The 1891 placed stricter limits on county creation, stipulating that a new county:


 * must have a land area of at least 400 sqmi;
 * must have a population of at least 12,000 people;
 * must not by its creation reduce the land area of an existing county to less than 400 sqmi;
 * must not by its creation reduce the population of an existing county to less than 12,000 people;
 * must not create a county boundary line that passes within 10 mi of an existing county seat.

These regulations have reined in the proliferation of counties in Kentucky. Since the 1891 Constitution, only has been created.

Because today's largest county by area,, is 788 sqmi, it is now impossible to create a new county from a single existing county under the current constitution. Any county created in this manner will by necessity either be smaller than 400 sqmi or reduce the land area of the old county to less than 400 sqmi. It is still theoretically possible to form a new county from portions of more than one existing county (McCreary County was formed in this manner), but the area and boundary restrictions would make this extremely difficult.

The two largest cities in Kentucky, and, are "urban-county governments," Kentucky's legal term for a consolidated city-county arrangement. Lexington and Fayette County are completely consolidated. When the Louisville Metro government was formed, all incorporated cities in Jefferson County, apart from Louisville, retained their status as cities; however, the Louisville Metro Council is the main government for the entire county, and is elected by residents in all of Jefferson County.

The (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.

Alphabetical List
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 * and || 1794 ||,  and  ||  (1735–1799), Revolutionary War soldier || [[Image:Map of Kentucky highlighting Campbell County.svg|150px]]

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 * and || 1840 ||  ||  (1755–1836), pioneer || [[Image:Map of Kentucky highlighting Kenton County.svg|150px]]

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 * || 1798 || and  ||  (1746–1807), Revolutionary War general|| [[Image:Map of Kentucky highlighting Muhlenberg County.svg|150px]]


 * }

Clickable map
The map shown below is clickable; click on any county to be redirected to the page for that county, or use the text links shown below on this page.