Kentucky, much of U.S. see population growth slow in latest Census estimates

State's growth rate drops to 0.5% as national trends show widespread deceleration in counties and metro areas

CHICAGO — Kentucky and much of the country saw population growth slow in the past year, with the U.S. Census Bureau reporting widespread deceleration in counties and metro areas between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025.
Kentucky's population increased by about 0.5% to 4,606,864 between 2024 and 2025, slower than the 0.75% growth the year before, according to the estimates.

The Census Bureau said growth slowed in a majority of the nation's 3,143 counties and the District of Columbia, with many places seeing growth decelerate or flip into losses. The same happened in Kentucky, where population growth slowed in 62 of the state's 120 counties.

Nationally, the U.S. population rose by 1.78 million in the 2024-2025 period, or 0.5%, down from 1.0% the year before, the agency's Vintage 2025 estimates show. Growth also cooled in metropolitan areas overall, averaging 0.6% from 2024 to 2025 compared with 1.1% from 2023 to 2024.

Migration and natural decrease

Census demographers attributed much of the slowdown to declining net international migration, which fell nationwide. Many large counties rely on international migration to offset other forces such as residents moving away to other parts of the country, the bureau said.

Across the U.S., the Census Bureau also reported that natural decrease — more deaths than births — remained widespread, affecting 2,055 counties, or about 65% of all counties. In Kentucky, the state's 53,065 deaths outnumbered its 52,982 births.

Kentucky reflected the mixed trends seen nationally, with some places growing while others shrank.

Fastest-growing and declining areas

The Richmond-Berea, Kentucky, micropolitan area was among the nation's fastest-growing micro areas by raw numbers from 2024 to 2025, adding 2,049 residents, from 129,757 to 131,806, Census estimates show.

Christian County, Kentucky, landed among the nation's top 10 counties for percentage decline over the same period, falling 1.8%, from 71,436 to 70,115.

Over the longer term, Kentucky's population grew by 100,577 people between 2020 and 2025, an increase of about 2.19% that ranks the state 28th nationally for percentage growth during that period, according to Census estimates.

Fayette County, the state's second most populated county, grew by 2,680, or 0.82%, between 2024-25, outpacing Jefferson County's growth of just 0.13%. It marks the fourth year of population growth for Fayette County after a COVID-era decline from 2020 to 2021.

Fayette County's numerical growth of 2,680 was only topped by Warren County, which grew by 2,809 people. Other counties with the 10 highest numerical growth were Madison (2,096), Boone (1,826), Campbell (1,387), Jefferson (1,056), Hardin (838), Jessamine (831) and Shelby (761).

While Christian County was Kentucky's fastest shrinking, it was followed by Pike (-637), Harlan (-321), Union (-288), Letcher (-255), Perry (-250), Floyd (-229), Boyd (-197), Breathitt (-193) and McCracken (-179).

Between 2024 and 2025, figures show 15,709 international immigrants settled in Kentucky, with more than half of those in Jefferson (7,494) and Fayette (3,084) counties.

The annual estimates are part of the bureau's Population Estimates Program, which uses updated data on births, deaths and migration to measure change since the 2020 census and revise the time series each year.