The largest county in Kentucky

There are two right answers. By land area it is Pike County; by population it is Jefferson County. Which one you want depends on what you meant by largest.

Largest by land area

Pike County

786.2 sq mi

2.0% of Kentucky's land

Largest by population

Jefferson County

795,222 people

17.3% of Kentucky's population

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

By land area

The ten largest counties of Kentucky by land area. Land area excludes inland and coastal water.
RankNameLand areaPopulation
1Pike County786.2 sq mi54,721
2Christian County717.8 sq mi70,115
3Pulaski County658.1 sq mi67,384
4Hardin County623.9 sq mi113,482
5Ohio County587.1 sq mi23,934
6Breckinridge County569.7 sq mi21,503
7Logan County552.2 sq mi28,669
8Graves County551.8 sq mi37,050
9Hopkins County542.3 sq mi45,127
10Warren County541.7 sq mi149,375

By population

The ten most populous counties of Kentucky, from the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates.
RankNamePopulationDensity
1Jefferson County795,2222,088 per sq mi
2Fayette County329,7511,162 per sq mi
3Kenton County175,7791,096 per sq mi
4Warren County149,375276 per sq mi
5Boone County145,316590 per sq mi
6Hardin County113,482182 per sq mi
7Daviess County104,898229 per sq mi
8Madison County101,696232 per sq mi
9Campbell County95,441631 per sq mi
10Bullitt County86,454291 per sq mi

And the smallest

Smallest by land area

Gallatin County

98.3 sq mi

Least populous

Robertson County

2,325 people

More on Kentucky

Rebuilt from source data 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.