Indiana vs Kentucky

The two states, county by county

Both maps share one density scale, so the same shade means the same number of people per square mile on either side of the border. Darker counties are denser. Select a county to open its page.

Side by side

Population and density

Indiana has 6,924,275 residents, 51% more than Kentucky's 4,588,372. Indiana ranks 17th and Kentucky 26th of the 50 states and DC. Indiana is the more crowded, with 193.3 people per square mile against 116.2, 66% more.

Land area

Kentucky has 39,485 square miles of land, 10% more than Indiana's 35,825. The largest county-equivalent in Indiana is Allen County at 657 square miles; in Kentucky it is Pike County at 786.

Counties

Kentucky is divided into 120 county-equivalents and Indiana into 92, so an average Kentucky county covers 329 square miles against 389. The typical county in Indiana has 34,874 residents, against 19,740 in Kentucky. The most populous are Marion County (981,628) and Jefferson County (793,881).

40 county names appear on both sides of the border: Allen, Boone, Carroll, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Fulton, Grant, Hancock, Harrison, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Martin, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Ohio, Owen, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, Union, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Whitley. Use the FIPS code, not the name, when joining data across the two states.

Household income

The median county in Indiana has a household income of $66,685, 20% above Kentucky's $55,510. The highest county incomes are Hamilton County ($121,231) in Indiana and Oldham County ($120,818) in Kentucky, from SAIPE 2023.

Capitals and daylight

Indianapolis and Frankfort are 129 miles apart in a straight line; from Indianapolis the initial bearing is 147°, SSE. On June 21, 2026, Indianapolis gets 15 h 00 min of daylight and Frankfort 14 h 49 min; on December 21 the figures are 9 h 21 min and 9 h 30 min. Month by month tables are on the Indianapolis and Frankfort daylight pages.

Where they sit

The border between them is also a Census region boundary: Indiana is in the Midwest and Kentucky in the South. By county internal points, Indiana spans 1 UTM zone and Kentucky 2.