Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
is a
state in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. It has 419 active cities.
[
]
Classes
Since January 1, 2015, Kentucky cities have been divided into two classes based on their form of government:
* First class – Mayor-alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...
government
* Home rule
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...
class – All other forms, including Mayor-Council, Commission, and City Manager
This system went into effect on January 1, 2015, following the 2014 passage of House Bill 331 by the Kentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives.
The General Assembly meets annually in ...
and the bill's signing into law by Governor Steve Beshear
Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th Attorn ...
.
The new system replaced one in which cities were divided into six classes based on their population at the time of their classification. Prior to the enactment of House Bill 331, over 400 classification-related laws affected public safety, alcohol beverage control, revenue options and others. Lexington
Lexington may refer to:
Places England
* Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington
Canada
* Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario
United States
* Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name
* Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...
and Fayette County are completely merged in a unitary urban county government (UCG); Louisville and other cities within Jefferson County have also merged into a single metro government. However, under state law, both major cities retained their pre-merger classification before the new scheme took effect. The General Assembly had historically reclassified cities only when requested by the city government. If all cities had been reclassified in the pre-2015 scheme according to actual population, about one-third of classifications would have changed. In particular, Lexington would have been classified as a first-class (Class 1) city.
Although basic city classification changed in 2015, the old classifications will remain relevant for some time. Because many provisions of state law applied only to cities of certain pre-2015 classes, House Bill 331 was explicitly written to address such issues. In certain areas of law, class-based distinctions between cities have been replaced by population-based distinctions. In certain other areas that were more controversial, the pre-2015 status quo is being maintained through a registry of cities that were covered by prior laws.
At the time the new system went into effect, the state's two largest cities of Louisville and Lexington
Lexington may refer to:
Places England
* Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington
Canada
* Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario
United States
* Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name
* Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...
were the only ones classified as first-class. All other cities in the state are now in the "home rule class."
; Pre-2015 classifications
List of cities
Click on the double triangles at the top of a column to sort the table by that column.
[Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office.]
122 County Seats
. Accessed 15 July 2013.
* A All but two of Kentucky's county seats are cities. The exceptions are Whitley City ( McCreary Co.) and Burlington ( Boone Co.). Two Kentucky counties have dual seats of government: the seats of Campbell Co. are Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
and Newport and the seats of Kenton Co. are Independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...
and Covington.
* B Unless otherwise noted, population and area are given according to the 2010 U.S. census.
* C Dates are those of the most recent formal incorporation, according to the records of the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Land Office.[Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office.]
419 Active Kentucky Cities
& individual pages. Accessed June 29, 2017.
* D For municipalities located in more than one county, the primary county (according to the U.S. Census) is listed first.
Former cities
Since the 2010 census, some cities in Kentucky were disincorporated and did not appear in the next census.
Gallery
File:Louisville Skyline.jpg, Louisville, the largest city in Kentucky
File:LexingtonDowntown.JPG, Lexington
Lexington may refer to:
Places England
* Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington
Canada
* Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario
United States
* Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name
* Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...
, home of the University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
File:Shops along Fountain Square in Bowling Green, Kentucky 2008.JPG, Fountain Square in Bowling Green, a base of GM's Corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
production
File:AscentAtRoebling's.jpg, Covington, a suburb of Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
File:Paducah.jpg, Paducah
File:Historic Newport Kentucky2.jpg, Newport
File:Danville, Kentucky Downtown view.jpg, Danville, home of Centre College.
File:DowntownCampbellsville Overhead IMG 0623.JPG, Campbellsville
File:Middlesboro.JPG, Middlesboro
File:BooneTavernBerea.jpg, Berea Berea may refer to:
Places Greece
* Beroea, a place mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, now known as Veria or Veroia
Lesotho
* Berea District
Romania
* Berea, a village in Ciumești Commune, Satu Mare County
* Berea, a tributary of the Val ...
File:Parisstreet.JPG, Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
File:Maysville.jpg, Maysville
File:Corbin Skyline2.JPG, Corbin
File:Frankfort kentucky.jpg, Frankfort, the state capital
File:Main Street in Nicholasville.jpg, Nicholasville
File:JTNPicture 026.jpg, Jeffersontown
File:Downtown Harrodsburg Kentucky 2.jpg, Harrodsburg
File:MTWNPicture 035.jpg, Middletown
File:Downtown Mount Sterling, Kentucky.JPG, Mount Sterling
File:La Grange KY - downtown.jpg, La Grange
File:Pikeville downtown.png, Pikeville
File:Williamsburg, Kentucky.jpg, Williamsburg
File:Hazard main2006.jpg, Hazard
A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would allow them, even just theoretically, to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probab ...
File:Downtown Bardstown.jpg, Bardstown
Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County.
Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a l ...
, home of "My Old Kentucky Home"
File:U. S. Route 460 in Georgetown, Kentucky.jpg, Georgetown
File:Downtown Ashland Kentucky.jpg, Ashland
File:Winchester, kentucky.jpg, Winchester
File:Paintsville's Main Street.jpg, Paintsville
File:Downtown carrolton.jpg, Carrollton
File:Williamstown, Kentucky.jpg, Williamstown
File:Downtown West Liberty, Kentucky.jpg, West Liberty
File:Hodgenville KY Town Square.jpg, Hodgenville
File:Downtown irvine.jpg, Irvine
File:Davedowntwn8vl.jpg, Horse Cave
File:Downtown Albany, Kentucky.jpg, Albany
File:Downtown carlisle, ky.jpg, Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...
File:Pineville, KY spring.jpg, Pineville
File:Falmouth kentucky.jpg, Falmouth
File:Harlan Kentucky Aerial view.jpg, Harlan
File:Catlettsburg Kentucky Louisa Street.jpg, Catlettsburg
File:Downtown Owingsville, Kentucky.jpg, Owingsville
File:Midway Historic District 1.jpg, Midway
File:Downtown Owenton Kentucky.jpg, Owenton
File:Downtown Taylorsville Kentucky.jpg, Taylorsville
File:Brooksville, kentucky.jpg, Brooksville
File:Downtown Willisburg, Kentucky.jpg, Willisburg
File:Downtown Hyden.jpg, Hyden
File:Downtown mt olivet.jpg, Mount Olivet
File:Downtown Booneville.jpg, Booneville
Fred Wiche Park 2018.jpg, Simpsonville, Kentucky
Simpsonville is a home rule-class city in Shelby County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is located 8 miles west of Shelbyville, Kentucky and 23 miles east of Louisville situated along U.S. 60. The population was 2,484 during the 2010 U.S. ...
See also
* Demographics of Kentucky
As of the 2010 census, the United States Commonwealth of Kentucky had an estimated population of 4,339,367, which is an increase of 297,174, or 7.4%, since the year 2000. Approximately 4.4% of Kentucky's population was foreign-born as of 2010. T ...
* Geography of Kentucky
Kentucky is situated in the Upland South. A significant portion of eastern Kentucky is part of Appalachia.
Kentucky borders seven states, from the Midwest and the Southeast. West Virginia lies to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tenness ...
* Kentucky statistical areas
The United States currently has 31 Statistical area (United States), statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On March 6, 2020, the OMB delineated six combined statistical areas, nine metropolitan ...
* List of census-designated places in Kentucky
* List of city nicknames in Kentucky
* List of counties in Kentucky
* List of metropolitan areas of Kentucky
References
{{Lists of cities by U.S. state
Cities and towns
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
Fun fact! Strawberries are a type of rose