The local economy of Kentucky and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
4.7%
+0.2 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Woodford County 3.2%, highest Martin County 8.5%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,248
+2.9%vs a year ago
1,979,083 jobs at 162,989 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
13,410
-10.1%this year vs last year
Most in Jefferson County 2,338, Warren County 1,126.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
+5,850
+1.7 per 1,000residents
87,649 moved in and 81,799 moved out. Most newcomers came from Ohio.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Kentucky gas price
$4.04
+$1.29vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Henderson County $3.70, highest Kenton County $4.30. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Kentucky, October 10, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
94K
+0.9%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
1.71M
+2.5%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (16.2%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$93.6B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$54,805
Highest sector: Utilities $104,771.
Per employee per year
Share of Kentucky's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 153,390 | $20,035 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 81,591 | $68,098 |
| Couriers and Express Delivery Services | 48,008 | $82,892 |
| Employment Services | 45,041 | $37,212 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 43,321 | $94,573 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 42,713 | $29,394 |
| Offices of Physicians | 40,637 | $106,389 |
| Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing | 40,500 | $58,098 |
| Warehousing and Storage | 31,783 | $46,942 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 30,142 | $67,612 |
| Grocery Stores | 27,917 | $27,909 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 25,321 | $65,622 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Offered pay in certified work-visa filings, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Click a company for its jobs and salaries.
In fiscal year 2025, employers offered a median of $93,746 a year in 2,123 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Kentucky, up 5.3% from 2024 (US: $120,000). The largest job group was Software Developers. Fiscal year 2026 so far covers filings decided through Jun 30, 2026.
Median offered pay
$93,746
+5.3%vs 2024
Middle half: $74,090 to $123,832.
H-1B, fiscal year 2025
H-1B filings
2,123
+0.8%vs 2024
2,571 positions asked for.
Certified, full-time, fiscal year 2025
Top job group
$108,480
Software Developers, 458 filings.
Median offered pay of the largest job group
Green card jobs
$100,000
+17.6%vs 2024
494 PERM filings.
PERM median, fiscal year 2025
Median and middle half of the offers in Kentucky, next to the US median. Hover a year for the numbers.
| Job group | Filings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 458 | $108,480 |
| Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians | 237 | $88,587 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 162 | $72,987 |
| Computer Programmers | 94 | $80,660 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 82 | $78,566 |
| Data Scientists | 81 | $90,367 |
| Physicians, All Other | 72 | $313,500 |
| Industrial Engineers | 59 | $90,749 |
| Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists | 51 | $67,336 |
| Mechanical Engineers | 50 | $85,010 |
| Employer | Filings | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| Tata Consultancy Services Limited TCS.NS | 236 | 5 |
| University of Kentucky | 142 | 5 |
| Humana Inc. | 102 | 3 |
| Archer Daniels Midland Company ADM | 72 | 1 |
| LTIMINDTREE Limited LTIM.NS | 51 | 5 |
| Cognizant Technology Solutions US Corp. CTSH | 50 | 5 |
| Wipro Limited WIT | 49 | 4 |
| University of Louisville | 40 | 2 |
| UofL Health - Louisville, Inc. | 30 | 1 |
| Tech Mahindra (Americas) Inc. TECHM.NS | 25 | 1 |
| City | Filings | Median pay | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 1,065 | $91,499 | $73,237 to $118,377 |
| Lexington | 258 | $85,390 | $70,159 to $133,961 |
| Erlanger | 167 | $103,880 | $86,840 to $133,452 |
| Frankfort | 90 | $90,000 | $78,031 to $104,135 |
| Florence | 69 | $103,133 | $85,000 to $122,500 |
| Bowling Green | 47 | $90,000 | $67,506 to $115,580 |
| Covington | 45 | $95,139 | $77,438 to $112,840 |
| Georgetown | 18 | $94,132 | $80,673 to $105,108 |
| Pikeville | 15 | $150,000 | $96,600 to $392,500 |
| Henderson | 15 | $330,000 | $327,500 to $392,000 |
Yearly pay that employers offered in certified work-visa filings (H-1B, E-3 and PERM green card), from official public data. Pay is the lower end of the offered pay range, for full-time positions only. These are offered pay figures for positions in work-visa filings, not the pay of all employees. A filing is an offer for a position, not a hire, and one person can appear in several filings. Fiscal years run from October to September. Groups with fewer than 3 filings show counts only. Employers are ranked by filings in the cities of Kentucky added up.
Declared disasters and flood insurance claims: what happened, from official public data.
Kentucky has had 99 declared disasters and emergencies since 1957, 64 of them since 2000, most often Severe Storm. Flood insurance has paid $527.8 million on 27,947 claims since 1978; the biggest year was 2025 ($112.6 million).
Declared disasters
64
50 major disasters. Most often Severe Storm (41 since 1957).
Since 2000, all types; 99 since 1957
Flood claims paid
$212.6M
5,325 claims. Biggest year 2025 ($112.6M).
2016 to 2025, flood insurance
Policies in force
17,584
Average premium $1,393 a year.
2025, flood insurance policies
Most-declared county
37
Clay County, latest May 29, 2026.
Declarations since 2000
Declarations for Kentucky, 1957 to today
Claims paid in Kentucky by the year of the flood, US dollars
Declarations since 1957
Declarations naming the county since 2000; statewide ones not counted
All years since 1978; policies are a yearly average. Top 15 of 118.
| # | County | Claims | Paid | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jefferson County | 5,557 | $98.8M | 4,729 |
| 2 | Pike County | 2,480 | $56.2M | 1,188 |
| 3 | Floyd County | 2,618 | $37.3M | 832 |
| 4 | Franklin County | 1,518 | $32.0M | 382 |
| 5 | Oldham County | 1,083 | $27.6M | 291 |
| 6 | Christian County | 978 | $21.4M | 455 |
| 7 | Woodford County | 509 | $17.0M | 174 |
| 8 | Greenup County | 713 | $10.8M | 444 |
| 9 | Perry County | 594 | $9.97M | 260 |
| 10 | Hardin County | 478 | $9.90M | 413 |
| 11 | Carter County | 449 | $9.05M | 248 |
| 12 | McCracken County | 307 | $8.64M | 251 |
| 13 | Letcher County | 188 | $7.70M | 133 |
| 14 | Breathitt County | 207 | $7.60M | 99 |
| 15 | Bell County | 566 | $7.37M | 367 |
A declaration opens federal help after a disaster; it can name counties or the whole state. Flood insurance numbers count insured losses only (most homes have no flood insurance) and are not adjusted for inflation; the current year is data so far. For the flood-zone risk of a place, open the area on the real estate map.
Environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports of facilities in Kentucky, from official public data.
Official public data lists 18,443 facilities in Kentucky with records since 2010, 18,361 of them with environmental compliance records. In 2022 to 2026, the largest penalties were at Givens Coal CO in Middlesboro ($4,150,000). 197 large facilities reported 65.1 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2023, down 10.4% from 2022.
Facilities with records
18,443
18,361 with environmental records.
Since 2010
Largest penalties
$4.15M
Givens Coal CO, Middlesboro.
One facility, 2022 to 2026
Greenhouse gases
65.1M t
-10.4%vs 2022
197 reporting facilities.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
Largest emitter
9.68M t
Kentucky Utilities CO Ghent Station, Ghent.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
| Facility | Penalties | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| Givens Coal CO Middlesboro | $4,150,000 | 1 |
| Double Mountain Mining LLC (807-8082) Middlesboro | $4,150,000 | 0 |
| Double Mountain Mining LLC Middlesboro | $4,150,000 | 6 |
| Double Mountain Mining, LLC Pruden | $4,150,000 | 0 |
| Smith Coal Processing (826-8019) Manchester | $2,000,000 | 0 |
| Thoroughbred Diesel Winchester | $1,250,000 | 0 |
| Pmc Organometallix INC Carrollton | $804,900 | 34 |
| Mill Creek Louisville | $750,000 | 0 |
| Abf Freight System INC Louisville | $535,000 | 0 |
| Ak Steel Ashland Works - Coke Plant Ashland | $490,000 | 0 |
| Facility | Metric tons CO2e |
|---|---|
| Kentucky Utilities CO Ghent Station Ghent | 9,677,873 |
| East Ky Power Coop - Spurlock Station Maysville | 7,372,549 |
| Mill Creek Louisville | 7,214,107 |
| Trimble County Station Bedford | 6,994,442 |
| Tva Shawnee Fossil Plant West Paducah | 5,828,807 |
| D B Wilson Island | 3,222,613 |
| Paradise Drakesboro | 2,534,934 |
| East Bend Union | 2,494,124 |
| Marathon - Catlettsburg Refinery Catlettsburg | 2,238,478 |
| Cane Run Louisville | 1,806,075 |
Large facilities in Kentucky, metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Hover a year for the number.
Their facilities in Kentucky, 2022 to 2026. Click a company for its Risk & Compliance tab.
| Company | Facilities | Penalties | CO2e (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPL Corporation PPL | 8 | $750K | 26.8M |
| ArcBest Corporation ARCB | 1 | $535K | - |
| Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. CLF | 3 | $490K | - |
| Dow Inc. DOW | 9 | $50K | 207K |
| Nucor Corporation NUE | 9 | $50K | 443K |
| United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS | 37 | $24K | - |
| Republic Services, Inc. RSG | 9 | $20K | 167K |
| Waste Management, Inc. WM | 5 | $13K | 130K |
Official public data on environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports, summarized by facility and year since 2010. A record does not mean a site is unsafe today; penalties and violations vary a lot by industry and size. Penalties are the amounts assessed (after settlements), not amounts paid. Recent years can still change.
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Kentucky, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Kentucky is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Kentucky, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Kentucky was 4.7% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.5% a year earlier. 2,010,261 people were employed out of a labor force of 2,109,516. Among its counties, Woodford County had the lowest rate (3.2%) and Martin County the highest (8.5%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Kentucky was $1,248 in Q1 2026, up 2.9% from a year earlier, across 1,979,083 jobs at 162,989 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 1,380 new homes in Kentucky in August 2026 (793 single-family and 490 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 9,183, down 10.1% from the same months last year, and 13,410 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Jefferson County (2,338), Warren County (1,126), Fayette County (1,116) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 87,649 people moved to Kentucky and 81,799 moved away, a net gain of 5,850 (+1.7 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, and most people who left went to Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee.
Regular gasoline in Kentucky averaged $4.04 per gallon on October 10, 2026, up $1.29 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.13. Among its counties, Henderson County had the lowest regular price ($3.70) and Kenton County the highest ($4.30).
Health Care and Social Assistance (277,311 employees), Manufacturing (257,247 employees), Retail Trade (215,414 employees) were the largest sectors in Kentucky in 2023. In all, 94,402 business locations employed 1,708,602 people at an average pay of $54,805 a year.
$93,746 a year was the median pay offered in 2,123 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Kentucky in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), up 5.3% from 2024. The middle half of the offers ranged from $74,090 to $123,832. The US median was $120,000. These are offered pay figures in work-visa filings, not the pay of all workers.
Tata Consultancy Services Limited (236), University of Kentucky (142), Humana Inc. (102), Archer Daniels Midland Company (72), LTIMINDTREE Limited (51) had the most certified H-1B filings for jobs in Kentucky in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).
Software Developers (458 filings, median $108,480), Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians (237 filings, median $88,587), Computer Systems Analysts (162 filings, median $72,987) were the largest job groups in certified H-1B filings in Kentucky in fiscal year 2025.
$103,880 was the median offered pay in Erlanger, the highest among the Kentucky cities with the most H-1B filings in fiscal year 2025 (167 filings).
$100,000 a year was the median pay offered in 494 certified PERM green card filings for jobs in Kentucky in fiscal year 2025.
99 disasters and emergencies have been declared for Kentucky since 1957, 64 of them since 2000 (50 major disasters). The most common type is Severe Storm (41 declarations).
Clay County, with 37 declarations since 2000, followed by Lawrence County (36) and Johnson County (35). Statewide declarations are not counted for single counties.
$527.8 million on 27,947 flood insurance claims since 1978. The biggest year was 2025, with $112.6 million paid on 2,171 claims. Jefferson County received the most ($98.8 million).
$1,393 a year in 2025, across 17,584 flood insurance policies in Kentucky. Most homes have no flood insurance; the premium depends on the home's flood risk and coverage.