Home / Bars & drinking places / Kentucky

Bars in Kentucky

How many bars exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 5 Kentucky counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

Includes: Bars & taverns · Pubs & brewpubs (drinking-focused) · Cocktail & wine bars · Taprooms. Counted together because official statistics use one 722410 code.

State verdict (covered counties): Below the U.S. rate — 85% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in Kentucky

Bars

173

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

0.9

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

1.0

per 10,000 present

State index

85%

vs. U.S.

Residents

1,592,309

in covered counties

Workers

831,584

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 5 Kentucky counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing bars and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in Kentucky

City	County	Bars	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Erlanger	Kenton County	32–44	166,567	73,908	1.6	156–205%	High density
Lexington	Fayette County	47–83	324,356	159,705	1.2	115–159%	Range spans bands
Louisville	Jefferson County	80–168	809,701	459,852	0.8	76–126%	Range spans bands
Bowling Green	Warren County	8–24	147,438	57,508	0.5	45–124%	Range spans bands
Florence	Boone County	6–20	144,247	80,611	0.3	32–97%	Range spans bands

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

156%

115%

76%

45%

32%

Most competitors per capita

32%

45%

76%

115%

156%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few bars may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

← All Bars & drinking places markets nationwide · Methodology · Data sources

Check a ZIP or city · Search by radius · Answers · Data story · Methodology · Data sources · About · Privacy · Terms · Updates (RSS)

BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.