Lexington Community Page

Lexington, Kentucky, is known as the Horse Capital of the World, but it’s the city’s people, not its horses, that make the city what it is. Located in Fayette County, in the heart of Kentucky’s famed scenic Bluegrass Region, it is surrounded by 450 horse farms. The city is located at the crossroads of I-64 and I-75 and within a day’s drive of two-thirds of the U.S. population.

Lexington is the home of the University of Kentucky, which has more than 30,000 students. More than a quarter of (27.5%) the school’s undergraduates come from outside the state. In the nearly 5,200-member class of freshman admitted in 2014, 131 were international students.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau:

  • As of 2010, 6.9% of Lexington’s population were Hispanic or Latino and 3.2% were Asian. Foreign born residents made up an estimated 9.1% of the city.
  • Lexington’s total population in 2015 was estimated at 314,488.
  • Of those 25 years old and older in 2014, 89.2% of the population had a high school diploma and 40.2% had a bachelor’s degree or higher. As of 2015, 91% of the country’s population 25 and older obtained high school diplomas and 36% had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
  • City residents’ median household income in 2014 was $48,667, and 19.3% of the city was living in poverty. Nationwide, the median income was $53,891 and 14.5% were living in poverty.

From 1995 to 2005, Lexington became one of the leading American cities in economic growth. Entrepreneur and Forbes magazines recently recognized Lexington as one of the best cities for business and careers. There have been concerted efforts to diversify the area’s economy to develop more manufacturing and high-tech businesses. Toyota’s multimillion-dollar assembly plant just north of Lexington employs close to 7,500 workers.

Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians are a growing part of Kentucky’s economy and population according to the American Immigration Council.

  • Immigrants make up 3.4% of the state’s population, and more than a third of them are naturalized U.S. citizens.
  • 6% of immigrants (or 56,085 people) in Kentucky were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2013.
  • Unauthorized immigrants make up an estimated 0.8% of the state’s population (or about 35,000 people) in 2012.
  • Latinos and Asians (foreign and native-born) have an estimated $5.5 billion in consumer purchasing power in Kentucky.
  • The state’s 5,559 Asian-owned businesses in 2007 had sales and receipts of $2.1 billion and employed 16,941. Kentucky’s 3,663 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $906.9 million and employed 6,705 people in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • From 2006 to 2010, there were 6,143 new immigrant business owners in Kentucky. In 2010, 4.6% of all business owners in Kentucky were foreign-born.
  • Immigrants made up 4.5% of the state’s workforce in 2013 (or 92,803 workers).
  • They paid more than $30 million in state sales and excise taxes in 2000 and paid $301 million in federal taxes and $158 million in state/local taxes in 2013.

If you are an immigrant living in the Lexington area, call CF Abogados today at (859) 971-0060 or fill out the online contact form if you have any questions about immigration law or need help with an immigration law matter.

Attorney Kirby J. Fullerton

Mr. Fullerton’s practice is focused on immigration law. He speaks Spanish, and represents clients in cases before the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals. He began his career practicing criminal defense, and understands how matters in criminal courts can affect a client’s immigration status. [Attorney Bio]