How many people are employed in Kentucky?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Kentucky has 1,674,114 employees across 91,949 business establishments in 760 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in Kentucky?

The largest industries in Kentucky by employment are General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (81,591), Limited-Service Restaurants (81,154), and Full-Service Restaurants (64,028).

What is the average payroll in Kentucky?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Kentucky. The highest-paying tracked industry is Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation at $112,898/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in Kentucky?

Kentucky has 91,949 business establishments across 760 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · KY · Census CBP 2023

Kentucky Industry Benchmarks

Name: Kentucky Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

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).

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 private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

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.

KY breadth ledger · HHI 0.101
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 →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals NAICS 622110	81,591	102	$5.6B	$68,098/yr
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	81,154	3,499	$1.5B	$18,054/yr
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	64,028	2,808	$1.5B	$22,695/yr
Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices NAICS 551114	42,306	561	$4.0B	$94,455/yr
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) NAICS 621111	40,099	2,710	$4.3B	$106,643/yr
Temporary Help Services NAICS 561320	38,488	495	$1.3B	$34,272/yr
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) NAICS 623110	24,113	318	$965.5M	$40,042/yr
Religious Organizations NAICS 813110	23,641	3,267	$617.5M	$26,121/yr
Commercial Banking NAICS 522110	22,221	1,581	$1.5B	$65,944/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	15,837	1,379	$1.0B	$64,364/yr
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	14,773	771	$390.5M	$26,433/yr
Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores NAICS 447110	14,295	1,826	$369.7M	$25,864/yr
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools NAICS 611310	14,161	54	$553.7M	$39,100/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	13,407	291	$957.2M	$71,399/yr
Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities NAICS 624120	12,777	591	$400.7M	$31,358/yr
Pharmacies and Drug Stores NAICS 446110	12,502	831	$530.0M	$42,394/yr
Child Day Care Services NAICS 624410	12,432	925	$293.1M	$23,578/yr
All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing NAICS 326199	12,363	78	$594.6M	$48,096/yr
Janitorial Services NAICS 561720	11,327	659	$289.5M	$25,558/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	10,721	898	$741.2M	$69,136/yr

Breadth peers near Kentucky's private employment

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (1,674,114 in Kentucky), excluding KY.

Louisiana 1,658,849 Oregon 1,635,645 Alabama 1,727,530 Connecticut 1,527,746 Utah 1,512,504 Oklahoma 1,358,788 Iowa 1,306,260 Nevada 1,298,196

Disclaimer: Kentucky (KY) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about Kentucky businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · KY

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Kentucky (KY). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →