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 to ...

is a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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 government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

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 wit ...

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 A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

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. 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 and Fayette County are completely merged in a unitary urban county government (UCG);

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

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

and Lexington 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 Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

( 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, Alexandria ...

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 statu ...

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 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 to ...

'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,

, the largest city in Kentucky File:LexingtonDowntown.JPG, Lexington, home of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

File:Shops along Fountain Square in Bowling Green, Kentucky 2008.JPG, Fountain Square in

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, 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 wit ...

File:Paducah.jpg,

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...

File:Historic Newport Kentucky2.jpg, Newport File:Danville, Kentucky Downtown view.jpg, Danville, home of

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...

. File:DowntownCampbellsville Overhead IMG 0623.JPG, Campbellsville File:Middlesboro.JPG, Middlesboro File:BooneTavernBerea.jpg, Berea 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. S ...

File:Maysville.jpg, Maysville File:Corbin Skyline2.JPG,

Corbin Corbin may refer to: People * Corbin (given name) * Corbin (surname) * Corbin (musician), American singer Buildings * Corbin Building, a historic building located at 192 Broadway in New York, US * Corbin Cabin, a log structure in Shenandoah ...

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 Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census. Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the House of Burgesses after Boonesbo ...

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 Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability * mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg giv ...

File:Downtown Bardstown.jpg, Bardstown, 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 Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

File:Paintsville's Main Street.jpg,

Paintsville Paintsville () is a home rule-class city along Paint Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 3,459 during the 2010 U.S. Census. History A Paint Lick Station was referred to in ...

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 England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

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 The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Old C ...

File:Downtown Booneville.jpg, Booneville Fred Wiche Park 2018.jpg,

Simpsonville, Kentucky Simpsonville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Shelby County, Kentucky, Shelby County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is located 8 miles west of Shelbyville, Kentucky and 23 miles east of Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville si ...

References

{{Lists of cities by U.S. state Cities and towns

Fun fact! Strawberries are a type of rose

Classes

List of cities

Former cities

Gallery

See also

References