List of Kentucky counties
| Counties of Kentucky | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | Commonwealth of Kentucky |
| Number | 120 |
| Populations | 2,282 (Robertson) – 741,096 (Jefferson) |
| Areas | 99 square miles (260 km2) (Gallatin) – 788 square miles (2,040 km2) (Pike) |
| Government | County government |
This is a list of the one hundred and twenty counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Despite ranking 37th in size by area, Kentucky has 120 counties; depending on definitions, this is either third or fourth among U.S. states. Texas has 254 counties and Georgia 159; Virginia has only 95 counties, but also has 38 independent cities that are not part of any county and deal directly with the state government, giving that state 133 county-level administrative units. 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 Kentucky Constitution placed stricter limits on county creation, stipulating that a new county:
These regulations have reined in the proliferation of counties in Kentucky. Since the 1891 Constitution, only McCreary County has been created.
Because today's largest county by area, Pike County, is 788 square miles (2,041 km2), it is now impossible to create a new county from a single existing county under the current constitution. Any county to be created in this manner will necessarily reduce the land area of the old county to less than 400 square miles (1,000 km2). It is still possible to form a new county from portions of more than one existing county; McCreary County was formed in this manner.
The largest city in Kentucky, Louisville, is a "consolidated local government" under KRS 67C. The second largest, Lexington, is an "urban-county government" under KRS 67A. Lexington and Fayette County are completely merged and there are no separate incorporated cities within the county. 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. In both of these counties, while Lexington and Louisville city governments govern their respective counties, a county Fiscal Court (Kentucky's governing body for counties) is still elected, as demanded by Kentucky's Constitution.
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