Kentucky: Basic Facts and State Overview

Kentucky is the 26th most populous state with 4.5 million residents and 40,408 square miles — a border state with strong Southern cultural ties but Midwestern geographic connections.

Capital and Major Cities
Frankfort is the capital (28,000 — one of the smallest state capitals in the US). Louisville is the largest city (633,000; metro 1.4 million), followed by Lexington (330,000; metro 520,000), Bowling Green (75,000), Owensboro (62,000), and Covington (42,000).

Nickname and Motto
Kentucky is the "Bluegrass State" — named for the blue-green grass (Poa pratensis) that dominates the limestone-rich Bluegrass Region's pastures. In spring, the grass produces blue-purple flower buds visible from a distance. The state motto is "United We Stand, Divided We Fall." The state bird is the Kentucky cardinal; the state flower is goldenrod.

Geography
Kentucky has five major physiographic regions: the Bluegrass Region (central limestone plateau), the Pennyroyal (Pennyrile) plateau, the Western Coal Fields, the Jackson Purchase (far west, between the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers), and the Eastern Mountains (the Cumberland Plateau and Cumberland Mountains — the highest terrain in Kentucky). The Ohio River forms the entire northern border.

Economy
Kentucky's economy is anchored by bourbon whiskey (95% of the world's bourbon is produced in Kentucky — a $9+ billion industry), horse breeding and racing (the Thoroughbred industry centered in Lexington is a $4+ billion industry), automotive manufacturing (Toyota's largest North American plant is in Georgetown), healthcare, coal (declining), and advanced manufacturing. Kentucky has no state inheritance tax.

Notable Facts
The Kentucky Derby (Churchill Downs, Louisville, first Saturday in May) is the world's most famous horse race, run continuously since 1875. Mammoth Cave is the world's longest known cave system (420+ miles mapped). Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky (near Hodgenville, 1809).