Skip to content
ZipNumbers
Aerial view of a dense city center, illustrating the US cities ZIP code directory

Kentucky · Census place 46027

Lexington, KY population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Lexington, Kentucky (Lexington, KY — Census place “Lexington-Fayette urban county”) is 321,122 residents, ranking #2 of 554 places in Kentucky. Median household income is $67,631, the median home is worth $272,100 and median gross rent runs $1,101 a month. Looking for the Lexington Kentucky ZIP code list? 16 ZIP codes serve Lexington, KY: 40502, 40503, 40504, 40505, 40507, 40508, 40509, 40510, 40511, 40513, 40514, 40515, 40516, 40517, 40526, 40536.

Population
321,122Lexington-Fayette urban county residents
Median household income
$67,631Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value
$272,100Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent
$1,101Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age
35.2 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate
53.6%Owner-occupied households

Lexington ZIP codes (Kentucky)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Lexington.

The Lexington KY ZIP code list below covers 16 ZIP codes. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

What the numbers mean in Lexington-Fayette urban county

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Lexington-Fayette urban county median would spend about 19.5% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 4.0× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 15.7% of residents and 53.6% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Lexington-Fayette urban county is a mid-size city in Kentucky, with 321,122 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #2 of 554 ranked by population — larger than 99% of them. The median age here is 35.2 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. At this size the Census also publishes one-year estimates; the five-year values used here are steadier and let you compare against smaller neighbours on the same basis.

Households in Lexington-Fayette urban county earn a median of $67,631 a year, 13.9% below the national figure of $78,538 and 22% above the $55,469 median for the 246 Kentucky cities we cover. Median household income counts every pre-tax dollar arriving at an address — wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, interest and public assistance — for everyone living there, so multi-earner households pull the figure up even where individual pay is modest. Poverty reaches 15.7% of residents here, above the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Lexington-Fayette urban county is valued at $272,100, 10.3% below the national figure and 73% above the $157,200 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,101 a month, 21.7% below the national figure, or roughly $13,212 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 19.5% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 4×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 53.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. The rent line includes utilities paid by the tenant, a definition worth remembering when comparing it against a landlord's quoted rate.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in Kentucky.

More Kentucky coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Lexington-Fayette urban county?
Lexington-Fayette urban county has 321,122 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #2 of 554 in Kentucky.
What is the median household income in Lexington-Fayette urban county?
Median household income in Lexington-Fayette urban county is $67,631 a year, 13.9% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Lexington-Fayette urban county?
Median gross rent is $1,101 a month and the median home value is $272,100, so rent absorbs about 19.5% of median household income.
Is Lexington-Fayette urban county affordable compared with the rest of the US?
Homes cost about 4× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Lexington-Fayette urban county is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 19.5% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Lexington-Fayette urban county data?
All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. At this size the Census also publishes one-year estimates; the five-year values used here are steadier and let you compare against smaller neighbours on the same basis.