Bordering states

Kentucky vs Missouri

Short answer

Missouri has 6,245,466 residents, 36% more than Kentucky's 4,588,372. Missouri is the larger by land, 1.74 times the size of Kentucky.
KY
4,588,372
MO
6,245,466

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.

Kentucky

Adair County: 47.5 per sq miKenton County: 1,090.4 per sq miOwen County: 32.6 per sq miMorgan County: 37.5 per sq miBracken County: 41.9 per sq miEdmonson County: 41.7 per sq miTrigg County: 33.0 per sq miJackson County: 38.7 per sq miSpencer County: 111.5 per sq miClark County: 149.2 per sq miJessamine County: 328.2 per sq miGreen County: 40.4 per sq miHenry County: 56.6 per sq miGraves County: 66.7 per sq miWebster County: 38.7 per sq miWashington County: 41.3 per sq miOhio County: 40.8 per sq miKnott County: 38.2 per sq miMeade County: 99.7 per sq miCarroll County: 86.3 per sq miScott County: 218.6 per sq miLincoln County: 74.8 per sq miGreenup County: 102.4 per sq miBoyle County: 174.1 per sq miHardin County: 180.8 per sq miNelson County: 116.3 per sq miHart County: 48.3 per sq miChristian County: 98.9 per sq miCarlisle County: 25.2 per sq miCrittenden County: 25.0 per sq miElliott County: 31.0 per sq miGarrard County: 78.5 per sq miLarue County: 58.0 per sq miLee County: 35.0 per sq miLeslie County: 24.3 per sq miHancock County: 48.0 per sq miLewis County: 26.7 per sq miLyon County: 42.5 per sq miMcLean County: 36.1 per sq miMagoffin County: 36.0 per sq miMartin County: 46.6 per sq miMason County: 70.6 per sq miRockcastle County: 51.3 per sq miMenifee County: 31.2 per sq miRussell County: 72.9 per sq miWhitley County: 85.0 per sq miTodd County: 34.1 per sq miUnion County: 38.4 per sq miWolfe County: 28.6 per sq miBell County: 64.2 per sq miBoyd County: 298.8 per sq miButler County: 29.5 per sq miMetcalfe County: 36.5 per sq miGrant County: 99.7 per sq miSimpson County: 86.9 per sq miPike County: 70.5 per sq miGallatin County: 89.6 per sq miHarlan County: 53.8 per sq miFayette County: 1,160.6 per sq miLogan County: 51.6 per sq miMuhlenberg County: 65.3 per sq miBath County: 46.6 per sq miMercer County: 94.3 per sq miBarren County: 93.6 per sq miFranklin County: 252.2 per sq miBullitt County: 288.8 per sq miBoone County: 585.3 per sq miCampbell County: 621.3 per sq miJefferson County: 2,084.6 per sq miWayne County: 42.9 per sq miBallard County: 30.9 per sq miAnderson County: 123.0 per sq miPulaski County: 101.6 per sq miKnox County: 76.8 per sq miLaurel County: 146.1 per sq miBreckinridge County: 37.2 per sq miOldham County: 376.6 per sq miLetcher County: 59.6 per sq miLawrence County: 38.0 per sq miMcCracken County: 271.5 per sq miNicholas County: 40.0 per sq miOwsley County: 19.9 per sq miPowell County: 72.2 per sq miBourbon County: 70.2 per sq miCalloway County: 101.3 per sq miHenderson County: 101.2 per sq miClinton County: 46.6 per sq miWarren County: 273.1 per sq miMontgomery County: 145.8 per sq miFloyd County: 87.8 per sq miWoodford County: 146.3 per sq miHopkins County: 83.4 per sq miJohnson County: 84.4 per sq miMarshall County: 105.0 per sq miEstill County: 55.3 per sq miCumberland County: 19.8 per sq miFleming County: 44.7 per sq miMadison County: 227.4 per sq miCarter County: 63.7 per sq miAllen County: 64.1 per sq miDaviess County: 227.9 per sq miHarrison County: 63.7 per sq miPerry County: 78.7 per sq miFulton County: 30.5 per sq miClay County: 41.7 per sq miRobertson County: 23.9 per sq miTrimble County: 58.1 per sq miTaylor County: 100.6 per sq miShelby County: 132.0 per sq miMcCreary County: 39.4 per sq miBreathitt County: 26.0 per sq miLivingston County: 28.2 per sq miHickman County: 18.1 per sq miRowan County: 88.2 per sq miCasey County: 35.9 per sq miMonroe County: 33.9 per sq miMarion County: 57.8 per sq miGrayson County: 54.2 per sq miCaldwell County: 36.6 per sq miPendleton County: 53.6 per sq mi

Missouri

Pettis County: 64.2 per sq miHenry County: 32.4 per sq miTexas County: 21.8 per sq miMadison County: 26.0 per sq miSt. Louis city: 4,531.7 per sq miCole County: 198.3 per sq miWashington County: 31.0 per sq miMacon County: 18.9 per sq miBarton County: 19.8 per sq miGrundy County: 22.4 per sq miCedar County: 31.7 per sq miRandolph County: 49.9 per sq miRay County: 40.8 per sq miCaldwell County: 21.1 per sq miBenton County: 29.3 per sq miDouglas County: 15.1 per sq miShannon County: 7.2 per sq miDade County: 15.6 per sq miWright County: 28.6 per sq miGentry County: 12.8 per sq miLawrence County: 64.0 per sq miCooper County: 30.3 per sq miHickory County: 22.0 per sq miMoniteau County: 36.9 per sq miDent County: 19.6 per sq miMonroe County: 13.7 per sq miMaries County: 16.1 per sq miBollinger County: 17.2 per sq miClinton County: 51.8 per sq miKnox County: 7.4 per sq miWebster County: 70.9 per sq miHarrison County: 11.3 per sq miPulaski County: 98.6 per sq miAdair County: 45.2 per sq miWarren County: 89.8 per sq miDaviess County: 15.2 per sq miAudrain County: 35.1 per sq miHoward County: 21.9 per sq miLinn County: 19.3 per sq miSaline County: 30.9 per sq miMiller County: 43.3 per sq miDallas County: 33.0 per sq miMorgan County: 37.5 per sq miNew Madrid County: 22.5 per sq miNewton County: 98.5 per sq miOregon County: 11.0 per sq miFranklin County: 116.2 per sq miGreene County: 456.0 per sq miRalls County: 22.3 per sq miLafayette County: 53.3 per sq miLivingston County: 27.5 per sq miMcDonald County: 44.6 per sq miBarry County: 45.8 per sq miCape Girardeau County: 144.6 per sq miCarroll County: 12.1 per sq miChristian County: 170.7 per sq miVernon County: 23.9 per sq miCarter County: 10.6 per sq miAndrew County: 41.8 per sq miJasper County: 198.1 per sq miWorth County: 7.0 per sq miLincoln County: 105.2 per sq miMarion County: 65.1 per sq miHolt County: 9.2 per sq miHowell County: 44.0 per sq miSt. Francois County: 149.4 per sq miChariton County: 9.8 per sq miButler County: 60.2 per sq miIron County: 17.1 per sq miPerry County: 40.3 per sq miCass County: 163.5 per sq miSt. Louis County: 1,954.6 per sq miDunklin County: 49.8 per sq miWayne County: 14.3 per sq miOzark County: 12.2 per sq miLaclede County: 48.0 per sq miReynolds County: 7.3 per sq miLewis County: 19.5 per sq miTaney County: 89.7 per sq miRipley County: 17.0 per sq miSte. Genevieve County: 37.2 per sq miScotland County: 10.8 per sq miPutnam County: 8.8 per sq miSchuyler County: 13.2 per sq miShelby County: 11.8 per sq miBoone County: 280.3 per sq miMercer County: 7.6 per sq miPlatte County: 269.7 per sq miCamden County: 67.3 per sq miBates County: 19.6 per sq miJohnson County: 67.4 per sq miSullivan County: 8.9 per sq miAtchison County: 9.4 per sq miScott County: 90.4 per sq miMontgomery County: 21.5 per sq miJefferson County: 353.3 per sq miClark County: 13.1 per sq miCallaway County: 54.1 per sq miSt. Clair County: 14.6 per sq miBuchanan County: 204.7 per sq miPemiscot County: 29.2 per sq miPolk County: 52.0 per sq miPhelps County: 68.0 per sq miStone County: 70.4 per sq miOsage County: 22.2 per sq miClay County: 662.3 per sq miNodaway County: 23.4 per sq miCrawford County: 30.7 per sq miJackson County: 1,203.2 per sq miSt. Charles County: 756.0 per sq miMississippi County: 28.5 per sq miPike County: 26.8 per sq miStoddard County: 34.5 per sq miGasconade County: 28.2 per sq miDeKalb County: 23.5 per sq mi
People per sq mi
  1. < 22
  2. < 37
  3. < 58
  4. < 101
  5. ≥ 101
no data

Residents, 2024

  1. 01Kentucky4,588,372
  2. 02Missouri6,245,466

Land, square miles

  1. 01Kentucky39,485
  2. 02Missouri68,746

People per square mile

  1. 01Kentucky116.2
  2. 02Missouri90.8

Median county household income

  1. 01Kentucky$55,510
  2. 02Missouri$56,121

Side by side

MeasureKentuckyMissouri
Residents, 20244,588,3726,245,466
Rank by population26th19th
Land, sq mi39,48568,746
People per sq mi116.290.8
County-equivalents120115
Median county residents19,74019,100
Median county income$55,510$56,121
Most populous countyJefferson CountySt. Louis County
Largest county by landPike CountyTexas County
CapitalFrankfortJefferson City
Daylight at capital, June 2114 h 49 min14 h 52 min
Census divisionEast South CentralWest North Central
Census Vintage 2024 population, 2024 Gazetteer land area, SAIPE 2023 income. Daylight computed with SunCalc.

Population and density

Missouri has 6,245,466 residents, 36% more than Kentucky's 4,588,372. Kentucky ranks 26th and Missouri 19th of the 50 states and DC. Kentucky is the more crowded, with 116.2 people per square mile against 90.8, 28% more.

Land area

Missouri has 68,746 square miles of land, 74% more than Kentucky's 39,485. The largest county-equivalent in Kentucky is Pike County at 786 square miles; in Missouri it is Texas County at 1,177.

Counties

Kentucky is divided into 120 county-equivalents and Missouri into 115, so an average Kentucky county covers 329 square miles against 598. The typical county in Kentucky has 19,740 residents, against 19,100 in Missouri. The most populous are Jefferson County (793,881) and St. Louis County (992,929).

37 county names appear on both sides of the border: Adair, Boone, Butler, Caldwell, Carroll, Carter, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Franklin, Harrison, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Marion, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Scott, Shelby, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster. Use the FIPS code, not the name, when joining data across the two states.

Household income

The typical county household income is about the same in both: $55,510 in Kentucky and $56,121 in Missouri. The highest county incomes are Oldham County ($120,818) in Kentucky and St. Charles County ($98,765) in Missouri, from SAIPE 2023.

Capitals and daylight

Frankfort and Jefferson City are 396 miles apart in a straight line; from Frankfort the initial bearing is 276°, W. On June 21, 2026, Frankfort gets 14 h 49 min of daylight and Jefferson City 14 h 52 min; on December 21 the figures are 9 h 30 min and 9 h 28 min. Month by month tables are on the Frankfort and Jefferson City daylight pages.

Where they sit

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

Questions people ask

Which is bigger, Kentucky or Missouri?

Missouri, with 68,746 square miles of land against 39,485, 1.74 times as large.

Which has more people, Kentucky or Missouri?

Missouri has 6,245,466 residents, 36% more than Kentucky's 4,588,372.

How far is Frankfort from Jefferson City?

396 miles in a straight line, heading W (276°) from Frankfort.

Do Kentucky and Missouri have counties with the same name?

Yes, 37: Adair, Boone, Butler, Caldwell, Carroll, Carter, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Franklin, Harrison, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Marion, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Scott, Shelby, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Bureau regions and divisions of the United States (last verified 2026-09-30)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.