Fayette County

Fayette County in Kentucky is the home of the city of Lexington and is the second most populous county in the state.

You might say it’s in Central Kentucky, or you might say, relatively speaking, It’s located in the northeastern part of the state, and had an estimated 314,488 residents as of last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Daniel Boone established Boonesboro in 1775. That led to others following and settling McConnell Springs, Lexington’s birthplace. The area was named after the site of the opening battle of the Revolutionary War, in Lexington, Massachusetts. Fayette County was named to honor the Marquis de Lafayette, the famous French aristocrat who joined the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

The Census Bureau estimates that for 2015 the county had these demographic characteristics:

  • 2% white (73.8% national average)
  • 15% African American (12.6% national average)
  • 9% Asian (5% national average)
  • 9% Hispanic or Latino (16.9% national average).
From 2010-2014, the share of foreign-born residents was 9.1%. Also during that time, 54.9% of residents lived in their own homes, with an average value of $166,000. The national average for home ownership was 64% in 2014. About 89.2% of the county population had a high school diploma and 40.2% had a bachelor’s degree or higher. The median income was $48,667 ($53,482 was the average across the county) and 19.8% of the population lived in poverty (the national average was 15.6%).

The area features the University of Kentucky, Transylvania University, and there are ten colleges and universities within forty miles of Lexington. More than 70,000 students are enrolled in institutions of higher learning, with more than 15,000 students graduating annually. Of cities with more than 300,000 people, the U.S. Census Bureau puts Lexington as the 13th most highly educated in the country; 17% of the population has an advanced degree.

Lexington was ranked the seventh most affordable big city in the country by Kiplinger magazine in 2014, and in 2015 the city was ranked as the eighth best large city to live in by Wallet Hub. The city was ranked as the 17th best college town, and Forbes magazine put Lexington as the 16th best place for business and careers in 2015. The area is also a good place to be when one’s working years are over, as Time magazine ranked Lexington among the top five best places to retire in 2014.

Some of the area’s major employers include the University of Kentucky, Toyota, state government, Osram Sylvania, Lexmark International, Amazon, Square D, Trane and Link-Belt. As of 2012, Fayette County was the home of 28,671 firms, with 68.4% of the population in the workforce.

In 1974, the City of Lexington and Fayette County merged, creating Kentucky’s only urban-county government until recently, when Louisville merged its city and county governments.

If you are an immigrant living in Fayette County in Kentucky call Carman Fullerton, PLLC today at 859-971-0060 or fill out the online contact form if you have any questions about immigration law or to find out what you can do to obtain permanent resident status or U.S. citizenship.