Kentucky’s Smallest County in Size and Population Is the Same County But What Are the Largest Ones?

Through 16 years of education, I only studied Kentucky twice. We did about two weeks when I was in fourth grade and for about a month in seventh grade, and I loved it.

What Are the Smallest and Largest Counties in Kentucky?

I was particularly enamored, as I always have been, with the numbers. I'm talking about population. We focused on the largest and smallest counties in those categories, as well as the largest and smallest counties in area. Yep, I'm a numbers nerd. The largest counties in area and population are different, but the smallest in both categories is the same county.

Robertson County

Robertson County, a little more than 50 miles northeast of Lexington, has the distinction of being both the smallest Kentucky county in area (99.91 square miles) and the least populous county (2,193 per the 2020 census). Named after Kentucky Congressman George Robertson, its county seat is Mount Olivet (population 347), but it does show up three times on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Johnson Creek Covered Bridge in Blue Lick State Park

The Thomas Metcalfe House

The Robertson County Courthouse

And now, at the other end of the scale...

Pike County, Kentucky

With a land area of 789 square miles, Pike County covers more terrain than any other Kentucky county. It's more than half the size of the state of Rhode Island and has a population of 58,669. Named after General Zebulon Pike, just like its governmental seat of Pikeville, Pike County is where you'll find the Dueling Barrels Brewery & Distillery, which gets rave reviews even when the main floor is closed, says Thomas Hornik on Google:

We popped in at this distillery/brewery midday on a Saturday. Sadly, the main floor was closed, so we had to go upstairs. The bartender was amazing and very helpful. She helped us navigate the different drinks available, discussed the history of the distillery, provided great suggestions for other local sights, and even went down to the ground floor shop to get some items for us for purchase. The actual drinks? Pretty good! They serve a bourbon barrel ale that has quite the flavor.

And you simply cannot leave Pike County without digging into the legendary Hatfield/McCoy feud.

The Big Sandy Heritage Center Museum and Bob Amos Park are also well worth your time, as are the Appalachian Mountains. In Pike County, you're surrounded by their majesty. Soak it in.

The Most Populous County in Kentucky

I don't think you need a teacher or professor to inform you that Jefferson County is Kentucky's most populous county. Thanks to it being almost completely consumed by Louisville, Kentucky's largest city, Jefferson County has a population of 782,969, according to the 2020 census. According to 2024 estimates, that number would rank it 47th if it were a state, just ahead of Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming.

But don't forget. In between Pike County and Robertson County, there are 118 other counties in Kentucky. I'd imagine they're also worth our attention.