Scottish Population in Kentucky by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to U.S. Census estimates, the Scottish population in Kentucky stands at 84,635. Every county reports a non-zero population, with Jefferson County leading at 13,928, followed by Warren County (3,330) and Kenton County (3,159). The combined total across counties is slightly lower than the statewide figure - a gap that may reflect rounding, data lag, or unassigned residents in certain census tracts. This analysis ranks all counties in Kentucky by their Scottish population, offering a localized perspective on how the community is distributed across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest Scottish population in Kentucky

View All
  • 1
    Jefferson County
    Scottish population in Jefferson County is 13,928
    1.79% of Jefferson County population is Scottish
  • 2
    Warren County
    Scottish population in Warren County is 3,330
    2.42% of Warren County population is Scottish
  • 3
    Kenton County
    Scottish population in Kenton County is 3,159
    1.86% of Kenton County population is Scottish
  • 4
    Campbell County
    Scottish population in Campbell County is 3,076
    3.30% of Campbell County population is Scottish
  • 5
    Boone County
    Scottish population in Boone County is 2,850
    2.07% of Boone County population is Scottish

Overview of Scottish population in Kentucky

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents Kentucky with 84,635 Scottish residents (1.9% of 4.5 million total state population), ranking the state at the 54th percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for Scottish demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate Kentucky's Scottish population of 1.9% exceeds the national average of 1.6% by a factor of 1.2.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey document Kentucky's 84,635 Scottish residents constitute 1.6% of the nation's total Scottish population of 5.3 million, providing the state with a measurable but modest share of the national demographic community.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data show Kentucky maintains 2.1 Scottish Americans per square mile compared to the national average of 1.5, indicating higher demographic concentration relative to national averages.
  • Need additional overviews? Extended research data available for purchase and license. ➔

118 Counties in Kentucky Ranked by Scottish Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Scottish populations across every county in Kentucky, with demographic distributions ranging from the highest population in Jefferson County to the lowest in $rank_n_geo_name. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all counties included in this analysis*.
counties in Kentucky ranked by Scottish population count
Rank by Scottish Population
County
Scottish Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Kentucky Scottish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Jefferson County 13,928 1.79% 16.46%
2 Warren County 3,330 2.42% 3.93%
3 Kenton County 3,159 1.86% 3.73%
4 Campbell County 3,076 3.30% 3.63%
5 Boone County 2,850 2.07% 3.37%
6 Hardin County 2,178 1.95% 2.57%
7 Daviess County 1,908 1.85% 2.25%
8 1,816 2.65% 2.15%
9 1,711 1.82% 2.02%
10 1,434 1.98% 1.69%
11 1,401 1.68% 1.66%
12 1,376 2.83% 1.63%
13 1,349 2.62% 1.59%
14 1,208 1.84% 1.43%
15 1,180 3.19% 1.39%
16 1,142 1.96% 1.35%
17 1,047 2.34% 1.24%
18 1,000 1.48% 1.18%
19 930 1.97% 1.10%
20 899 1.87% 1.06%
21 898 1.67% 1.06%
22 833 3.13% 0.98%
23 816 2.29% 0.96%
24 755 1.67% 0.89%
25 728 3.68% 0.86%
26 703 1.86% 0.83%
27 701 1.22% 0.83%
28 694 1.56% 0.82%
29 691 1.10% 0.82%
30 643 1.76% 0.76%
31 637 2.29% 0.75%
32 627 1.77% 0.74%
33 603 2.50% 0.71%
34 577 2.20% 0.68%
35 575 1.81% 0.68%
36 572 2.12% 0.68%
37 534 2.34% 0.63%
38 524 2.64% 0.62%
39 523 1.97% 0.62%
40 504 2.06% 0.60%
41 501 1.63% 0.59%
42 474 1.71% 0.56%
43 430 1.52% 0.51%
44 428 1.75% 0.51%
45 425 2.11% 0.50%
46 422 2.22% 0.50%
47 406 1.10% 0.48%
48 398 1.97% 0.47%
49 385 2.27% 0.45%
50 371 3.32% 0.44%
51 346 1.13% 0.41%
52 339 1.34% 0.40%
53 335 1.28% 0.40%
54 312 1.51% 0.37%
55 309 1.38% 0.37%
55 309 2.10% 0.37%
56 307 3.64% 0.36%
56 307 1.69% 0.36%
57 305 1.45% 0.36%
58 304 1.88% 0.36%
59 274 1.15% 0.32%
60 270 1.71% 0.32%
61 266 1.91% 0.31%
62 261 1.33% 0.31%
63 255 1.79% 0.30%
64 247 1.27% 0.29%
64 247 2.18% 0.29%
65 245 1.16% 0.29%
66 240 1.48% 0.28%
67 238 0.79% 0.28%
68 230 0.97% 0.27%
69 222 2.14% 0.26%
69 222 2.60% 0.26%
70 221 1.96% 0.26%
71 215 1.09% 0.25%
72 205 3.45% 0.24%
72 205 1.46% 0.24%
73 203 1.35% 0.24%
74 198 1.30% 0.23%
75 197 1.75% 0.23%
76 191 0.64% 0.23%
77 187 1.55% 0.22%
78 167 1.86% 0.20%
79 166 1.36% 0.20%
80 161 1.40% 0.19%
81 158 1.22% 0.19%
82 157 2.04% 0.19%
82 157 1.44% 0.19%
83 156 2.12% 0.18%
84 155 0.82% 0.18%
85 147 1.64% 0.17%
86 145 1.57% 0.17%
87 142 1.15% 0.17%
88 134 1.31% 0.16%
89 133 0.77% 0.16%
90 124 1.42% 0.15%
91 123 0.96% 0.15%
91 123 1.35% 0.15%
92 119 0.92% 0.14%
93 117 0.73% 0.14%
94 115 1.30% 0.14%
95 113 1.25% 0.13%
96 108 0.81% 0.13%
97 107 1.65% 0.13%
98 104 0.77% 0.12%
99 102 0.81% 0.12%
99 102 0.83% 0.12%
100 100 0.77% 0.12%
101 93 1.27% 0.11%
102 92 1.20% 0.11%
103 79 0.56% 0.09%
104 73 1.13% 0.09%
105 60 0.46% 0.07%
106 45 0.94% 0.05%
107 37 1.65% 0.04%
108 36 0.58% 0.04%
109 28 0.63% 0.03%
110 17 0.42% 0.02%
Need the complete table? Full rankings and the underlying data sets for California and other locations are available for purchase or license.

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks county in Kentucky by their Scottish population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Scottish population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Scottish ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Scottish alone, while others identify as Scottish along with another race (such as Scottish and German).
  • We’ve used the “Scottish alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Scottish population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Scottish alone or in combination in county. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Scottish .
  2. % of Total Kentucky Scottish Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Scottish population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Scottish populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • County that don’t have any reported Scottish population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Scottish populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.