State overview · KY · Census CBP 2023
Kentucky Industry Benchmarks
Employment, establishments, and payroll for 760 industries in Kentucky. Drill into any industry for a Kentucky-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.
- 1.7M
- Workers
- 92K
- Establishments
- 760
- Industries tracked
Data updated August 2026
The verdict · Kentucky
Kentucky employs 1,674,114 workers across 760 tracked industries, led by General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (81,591 workers) among the 328 detailed industries with published employment.
No single sector dominates Kentucky (lead 17%; top-three 45%). Margins stay on national industry pages.
Kentucky sector employment mix
Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.
Kentucky spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Health Care and Social Assistance, is only 17% of 1,674,114 private-sector workers (about the 51st percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.
Not ranked: 3 of 20 sectors have no published employment figure. Census County Business Patterns applies 2% or more noise to those cells, and PlainBizBench publishes only low-noise figures rather than estimating. Total employment, shares and the mix on this page sum only the sectors with a published figure. How we handle withheld data.
| Sector | Workers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance (62) | 277,311 | 17% |
| Manufacturing (31) | 257,247 | 15% |
| Retail Trade (44) | 215,414 | 13% |
| Top-three cumulative 45% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates. | ||
Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.
Census CBP firm roll
County Business Patterns KY DISTRIBUTED · CBP
#25/51 · 1,674,114 workers · 91,949 firms
- EMP 1,674,114
- EST 91,949
- RANK #25/51
- PCT 51st pct
- LEAD Health Care and Soci…
- SHARE 17% lead
- BAND distributed
- DENS 18.2 /firm
- BOOK 760 NAICS
- PHOTO Louisiana
Nearest employment-scale peer: Louisiana (1,658,849 workers)
According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Kentucky ranks #25 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →
KY in the employment-scale neighbourhood
Top Industries by Employment
Not ranked: 454 of 782 detailed industries have no published employment figure. Census County Business Patterns applies 2% or more noise to those cells, and PlainBizBench publishes only low-noise figures rather than estimating. All Other General Merchandise Stores (1,299), Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores (721), Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists (683) and 51 more report more establishments than General Medical and Surgical Hospitals, so General Medical and Surgical Hospitals leads only among the 328 detailed industries with published employment. How we handle withheld data.
Breadth peers near Kentucky's private employment
Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (1,674,114 in Kentucky), excluding KY.
Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · KY
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.