Kentucky Facts -- National Geographic

Fast Facts

Population:: 4,117,827
Capital:: Frankfort; 27,660
Area:: 40,409 square miles (104,659 square kilometers)
Per Capita Income:: U.S. $25,657
Date Statehood Achieved:: June 1, 1792

Bluegrass and the music named for it are rooted here. In 1769 Daniel Boone entered the region through the Cumberland Gap. Today Kentucky ranks with Wyoming and West Virginia as a leading coal producer. More than 20 percent of its farm receipts come from tobacco. The state has the largest concentration of whiskey distilleries in the U.S., although 70 of the 120 counties are dry. Derby Day has drawn horse racing enthusiasts to Churchill Downs every year since 1875.

ECONOMY

Industry: Manufacturing, services, government, finance, insurance, real estate, retail trade, transportation, wholesale trade, construction, mining
Agriculture: Tobacco, horses, cattle, corn, dairy products

—Text From National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition

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