Languages Spoken in Kentucky: Map and County Data

11.9%

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 210,000 people age 5 and older in Kentucky speak a language other than English at home, representing 5.1% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 106,000 speakers, followed by German and Chinese.

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Kentucky

The most spoken non-English languages in Kentucky are Spanish, German, and Chinese. Spanish is spoken at home by about 106,000 people, or roughly 2.6% of the state’s population age 5+.

#1 non-English language

Spanish

About 106,000 speakers

#2 non-English language

German

About 13,500 speakers

#3 non-English language

Chinese

About 8,800 speakers

Key Language Findings for Kentucky

About 210,000 people in Kentucky speak a language other than English at home, representing 5.1% of residents age 5 and older.

The most spoken non-English languages in Kentucky are Spanish, German, and Chinese.

Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in Kentucky, with about 106,000 speakers, representing roughly 2.6% of residents age 5 and older.

Jefferson County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in Kentucky, with about 27,000 speakers.

Jefferson County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 59,500 residents.

While Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, another language leads in 12 of the 120 Kentucky counties, including German in Hart County.

How Language Use Varies Across Kentucky Counties

Language patterns differ sharply by county. Spanish is the leading non-English language across most of Kentucky, but county-level rankings show large local communities speaking German, Arabic, Chinese, other West Germanic languages, African languages, French, Serbo-Croatian, and other languages.

Jefferson County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Fayette County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 11.9%. In Hart County, German is the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.

English Proficiency and Language Access in Kentucky

Speaking a language other than English at home does not necessarily mean someone has limited English proficiency. Census table B16001 also separates language groups by whether residents report speaking English "very well" or less than "very well," providing additional context for organizations planning language access services. For a broader look at limited English proficiency across the country, explore Boostlingo's LEP State Map.

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Most Spoken Languages in Kentucky by County

Search or sort the full county dataset to compare the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home and the six most spoken non-English languages in each county.

County	% Other Language	Other-Language Speakers	#1 Language	#2 Language	#3 Language	#4 Language	#5 Language	#6 Language	Population Age 5+
Fayette County	11.9%	34,339	Spanish 17,943	Chinese 3,406	Arabic 1,552	French 1,096	African languages 1,078	Japanese 1,046	288,709
Warren County	11.3%	12,585	Spanish 4,590	Serbo-Croatian 1,896	Other Asian 1,240	Arabic 1,225	African languages 771	Other Indic 408	111,368
Todd County	10.2%	1,185	Other West Germanic 598	Spanish 313	German 184	Hindi 52	Portuguese 17	Italian 8	11,594
Shelby County	9.2%	3,780	Spanish 3,019	Chinese 367	French 180	German 98	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 20	Other West Germanic 18	41,288
Jefferson County	8.4%	59,515	Spanish 27,029	African languages 4,266	Arabic 2,842	Other Asian 2,548	French 2,177	Other Indic 2,167	706,605
Woodford County	8.0%	1,932	Spanish 1,710	German 98	African languages 30	Other Slavic 28	Japanese 27	Chinese 14	24,044
Hart County	7.5%	1,290	German 542	Other West Germanic 470	Spanish 131	Other Native North American 40	Arabic 31	Tagalog / Filipino 24	17,299
Hardin County	7.4%	7,417	Spanish 2,930	German 1,682	Korean 459	French 235	Japanese 211	Vietnamese 182	99,958
Trigg County	7.0%	947	Other West Germanic 477	Spanish 151	German 119	Korean 83	Gujarati 49	French 37	13,557
Allen County	6.7%	1,273	German 710	Other West Germanic 287	Spanish 243	French 14	Other Pacific Island 9	Korean 6	19,124
Boone County	6.6%	7,681	Spanish 3,070	Japanese 907	German 485	French 479	African languages 425	Chinese 364	115,625
Christian County	6.6%	4,388	Spanish 2,319	Other West Germanic 525	German 442	Japanese 177	Tagalog / Filipino 145	Korean 82	66,966
Bourbon County	6.2%	1,166	Spanish 1,041	Chinese 42	Polish 23	French 17	Other Indic 16	German 15	18,869
Graves County	6.2%	2,177	Spanish 1,620	Other West Germanic 195	German 108	Gujarati 87	Hebrew 45	Tagalog / Filipino 38	34,934
Carroll County	5.9%	582	Spanish 492	Italian 35	German 23	Russian 15	French 12	African languages 5	9,936
Calloway County	5.8%	2,105	Spanish 770	Arabic 350	Chinese 291	Other Asian 169	French 109	Korean 103	36,139
Webster County	5.7%	708	Spanish 500	German 173	Other West Germanic 12	French 11	Other Slavic 6	Scandinavian 3	12,463
Crittenden County	5.5%	480	German 229	Other West Germanic 138	Spanish 84	Japanese 15	Other Indo-European 14	—	8,714
Franklin County	5.5%	2,610	Spanish 1,400	African languages 212	Other Asian 171	German 164	Other Indic 131	Tagalog / Filipino 122	47,282
Oldham County	5.4%	3,236	Spanish 1,972	Arabic 178	French 159	German 109	Russian 104	Japanese 81	60,079
Fleming County	5.3%	716	Other West Germanic 402	Spanish 168	German 115	Hebrew 19	Korean 9	Chinese 2	13,595
Scott County	5.0%	2,360	Spanish 1,601	French 170	Japanese 122	Chinese 90	Korean 58	Hebrew 57	46,740
Jessamine County	4.8%	2,226	Spanish 1,064	Other Slavic 337	Vietnamese 102	Other Indo-European 99	Other Asian 97	Russian 80	46,846
Gallatin County	4.5%	357	Spanish 323	French 19	Arabic 8	Chinese 4	Polish 3	—	7,978
Campbell County	4.3%	3,654	Spanish 1,532	French 456	Arabic 355	African languages 285	German 194	Hindi 158	85,852
Harrison County	4.1%	725	Spanish 410	Other West Germanic 157	German 122	French 36	—	—	17,566
Kenton County	4.1%	6,170	Spanish 3,596	German 503	Tagalog / Filipino 322	Chinese 307	French 273	Serbo-Croatian 200	151,426
Butler County	4.0%	484	Spanish 359	Other West Germanic 53	French 29	German 26	Japanese 17	—	12,017
McCreary County	4.0%	668	Spanish 411	Other Native North American 70	German 69	French 57	Polish 20	Yiddish 19	16,774
Monroe County	4.0%	410	Spanish 288	German 45	Thai 25	Other West Germanic 17	Portuguese 12	French 9	10,148
Madison County	3.9%	3,166	Spanish 1,636	Tagalog / Filipino 243	Chinese 240	French 149	Japanese 124	Arabic 113	80,969
Washington County	3.9%	440	Spanish 256	Other West Germanic 109	German 40	French 19	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 14	French Creole 2	11,256
Boyle County	3.7%	1,040	Spanish 656	Chinese 103	Arabic 63	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 47	French 42	African languages 28	27,836
Larue County	3.7%	501	Spanish 330	German 99	French 31	Tagalog / Filipino 15	Portuguese 11	Greek 11	13,410
Barren County	3.6%	1,450	Spanish 819	German 213	French 142	Chinese 107	Tagalog / Filipino 57	Italian 49	40,294
Grant County	3.6%	819	Spanish 639	French 78	German 71	Italian 21	Other Indic 6	Arabic 4	22,931
Logan County	3.6%	907	Spanish 349	Other West Germanic 285	German 124	African languages 99	Scandinavian 13	French 10	25,213
Daviess County	3.5%	3,179	Spanish 1,943	German 309	Other Asian 162	Gujarati 126	Chinese 73	Korean 73	91,654
Mason County	3.5%	563	Spanish 256	German 202	Other West Germanic 80	French 18	Korean 7	—	16,168
Casey County	3.4%	505	Spanish 238	Other West Germanic 212	French 13	Chinese 12	Korean 8	Italian 7	14,958
Marion County	3.3%	606	Spanish 347	Japanese 120	Other West Germanic 46	German 41	Korean 18	French 13	18,442
McCracken County	3.3%	2,041	Spanish 909	Korean 267	German 163	French 136	Other West Germanic 86	Other Asian 68	61,538
Mercer County	3.3%	652	Spanish 315	German 227	French 45	Tagalog / Filipino 31	Scandinavian 14	Hebrew 9	20,061
Ballard County	3.2%	249	Gujarati 85	Greek 58	Spanish 51	Vietnamese 31	German 9	Chinese 7	7,835
Lyon County	3.2%	258	Spanish 82	German 45	Other West Germanic 42	Chinese 36	Russian 33	African languages 9	8,122
Henry County	3.1%	451	Spanish 375	French 25	Russian 22	Italian 14	Other / unspecified 8	Tagalog / Filipino 3	14,566
Meade County	3.0%	815	Spanish 544	German 100	Tagalog / Filipino 63	Korean 55	Other Indic 21	Portuguese 14	27,239
Nicholas County	3.0%	202	German 177	Spanish 11	French 8	Russian 6	—	—	6,632
Bath County	2.9%	327	Spanish 223	German 88	French 8	Korean 6	Vietnamese 2	—	11,217
Green County	2.8%	301	Other West Germanic 148	Spanish 65	Vietnamese 29	Hindi 17	Other Indic 17	Japanese 12	10,574
Rowan County	2.8%	625	Spanish 366	Arabic 89	German 49	Other Asian 35	Other Pacific Island 35	Chinese 30	22,264
Edmonson County	2.7%	307	Spanish 154	German 88	Chinese 26	Other Slavic 20	Other West Germanic 7	Serbo-Croatian 7	11,514
Henderson County	2.7%	1,187	Spanish 900	German 70	Tagalog / Filipino 47	Other Pacific Island 37	French 35	Other West Germanic 32	43,458
Nelson County	2.7%	1,106	Spanish 730	German 103	Other West Germanic 95	Gujarati 62	French 42	Other Asian 31	41,474
Trimble County	2.7%	221	Spanish 209	Other West Germanic 4	German 3	French 2	Portuguese 2	Thai 1	8,305
Hickman County	2.6%	116	Spanish 99	Thai 6	Other Native North American 4	German 3	French 2	Russian 2	4,531
Taylor County	2.6%	603	Spanish 186	German 123	Chinese 96	Other West Germanic 85	Japanese 24	Scandinavian 14	23,408
Garrard County	2.5%	397	Spanish 318	Persian 26	Portuguese 18	German 15	French 9	Korean 6	16,060
Breckinridge County	2.4%	453	Spanish 195	German 136	Other West Germanic 97	French 16	Chinese 9	—	18,904
Clark County	2.4%	815	Spanish 585	German 69	Japanese 42	Gujarati 39	Urdu 31	French 27	33,547
Martin County	2.4%	291	Spanish 245	French 16	Other West Germanic 11	French Creole 8	Arabic 8	African languages 2	11,926
Pulaski County	2.3%	1,387	Spanish 651	Other Indic 152	German 101	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 84	Hindi 78	Chinese 77	59,955
Robertson County	2.3%	47	German 39	Chinese 8	—	—	—	—	2,082
Spencer County	2.3%	377	Spanish 160	German 120	Greek 47	Korean 42	Other Slavic 8	—	16,635
Hancock County	2.2%	177	Spanish 114	German 51	Hebrew 12	—	—	—	8,122
Russell County	2.2%	358	Spanish 293	Russian 17	Hindi 14	Arabic 11	French 8	German 8	16,535
Clay County	2.1%	424	Spanish 360	African languages 25	French 20	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 12	German 4	Arabic 3	19,909
Livingston County	2.1%	186	Spanish 132	German 34	Japanese 18	Polish 2	—	—	8,848
Union County	2.1%	296	Spanish 133	German 44	French 38	African languages 30	Other Native North American 11	Portuguese 10	14,304
Wayne County	2.1%	416	Spanish 346	German 64	Tagalog / Filipino 6	—	—	—	19,459
Hopkins County	2.0%	853	Spanish 501	Tagalog / Filipino 52	Urdu 47	Other Asian 45	German 44	Japanese 34	43,667
Montgomery County	2.0%	497	Spanish 372	Scandinavian 42	Other West Germanic 38	Italian 29	German 9	Tagalog / Filipino 7	25,440
Adair County	1.9%	342	Spanish 260	German 43	Other West Germanic 9	Navajo 7	Korean 6	Arabic 6	17,889
Clinton County	1.9%	179	Spanish 135	Japanese 23	Portuguese 11	German 10	—	—	9,506
Grayson County	1.9%	457	Spanish 242	Hindi 66	German 44	French 42	Other West Germanic 35	Chinese 28	24,289
McLean County	1.9%	173	Spanish 138	Vietnamese 26	French 9	—	—	—	8,940
Simpson County	1.9%	309	Spanish 142	German 63	Other West Germanic 24	Persian 19	Other Indic 16	Korean 15	16,537
Boyd County	1.8%	815	Spanish 426	French 86	Hindi 75	Russian 52	German 31	Arabic 29	46,169
Bullitt County	1.8%	1,292	Spanish 622	German 112	Tagalog / Filipino 105	Other West Germanic 96	Chinese 79	Japanese 60	72,760
Elliott County	1.8%	132	Spanish 97	Arabic 16	German 8	Other Native North American 7	Korean 4	—	7,386
Letcher County	1.8%	393	Spanish 215	Chinese 43	Vietnamese 40	German 34	French 17	Hindi 15	22,289
Lewis County	1.8%	237	Spanish 157	Other West Germanic 71	Chinese 9	—	—	—	12,960
Ohio County	1.8%	398	Spanish 344	Other West Germanic 21	Thai 15	German 8	Tagalog / Filipino 8	Russian 2	22,523
Lawrence County	1.7%	258	Chinese 90	Spanish 65	Arabic 58	German 28	Other Indo-European 11	Greek 6	14,820
Harlan County	1.6%	418	Spanish 212	Chinese 65	German 58	French 33	Other West Germanic 26	Korean 9	26,524
Laurel County	1.6%	917	Spanish 420	Vietnamese 149	French 97	German 66	Other Indic 59	Urdu 31	55,934
Menifee County	1.6%	97	Spanish 45	Scandinavian 36	Tagalog / Filipino 16	—	—	—	6,015
Powell County	1.6%	185	Spanish 143	Korean 20	Other Slavic 12	German 8	Other Asian 2	—	11,626
Johnson County	1.5%	340	Spanish 190	German 60	Russian 35	Other Asian 35	Urdu 18	French 2	21,960
Lincoln County	1.5%	332	Spanish 110	Other West Germanic 107	French 64	German 26	Hindi 13	Russian 7	22,884
Pike County	1.5%	919	Spanish 436	German 112	Tagalog / Filipino 90	Chinese 79	Vietnamese 48	Polish 24	59,778
Whitley County	1.5%	484	Spanish 253	Hindi 40	Other Indo-European 37	Arabic 23	Vietnamese 17	Other Native North American 17	33,304
Bracken County	1.4%	112	Spanish 106	Italian 6	—	—	—	—	7,873
Greenup County	1.4%	499	Spanish 275	Tagalog / Filipino 51	French 40	German 32	Other West Germanic 31	Arabic 20	34,491
Knott County	1.4%	211	Spanish 120	German 52	Other West Germanic 19	French 6	Korean 6	Italian 5	15,084
Morgan County	1.4%	183	Spanish 117	French 23	German 15	Gujarati 12	Chinese 10	Scandinavian 6	12,790
Pendleton County	1.4%	199	Spanish 121	French 25	Russian 21	Arabic 15	Scandinavian 8	African languages 5	13,735
Bell County	1.3%	333	Spanish 131	German 122	Vietnamese 50	Tagalog / Filipino 16	Other West Germanic 8	Italian 5	26,277
Muhlenberg County	1.3%	396	Spanish 205	French 65	German 38	Tagalog / Filipino 29	Other Pacific Island 24	Italian 15	29,730
Anderson County	1.2%	235	Spanish 163	German 39	Korean 15	Japanese 9	Other Slavic 5	Hungarian 4	20,400
Breathitt County	1.2%	156	Spanish 99	German 14	Hindi 12	French 8	Italian 6	Tagalog / Filipino 6	12,828
Perry County	1.2%	322	Spanish 132	Urdu 98	French 54	Gujarati 35	German 3	—	26,267
Fulton County	1.1%	67	Spanish 35	African languages 16	Chinese 9	French 6	Italian 1	—	6,011
Metcalfe County	1.1%	99	Spanish 41	German 33	Chinese 10	Other West Germanic 9	French 6	—	9,345
Carter County	1.0%	247	Spanish 133	Arabic 35	German 23	French 18	African languages 15	Scandinavian 13	25,668
Jackson County	1.0%	124	Spanish 103	Tagalog / Filipino 14	German 7	—	—	—	12,566
Marshall County	1.0%	304	Spanish 185	German 52	Korean 25	Chinese 24	Japanese 9	Gujarati 5	29,543
Floyd County	0.9%	343	Spanish 140	Other Asian 54	French 34	Vietnamese 30	Other Indo-European 28	Italian 20	36,156
Knox County	0.9%	257	Spanish 238	German 8	Chinese 8	French 1	Italian 1	Other Asian 1	29,825
Lee County	0.9%	62	Spanish 48	Greek 10	Vietnamese 4	—	—	—	6,788
Carlisle County	0.8%	39	Spanish 29	German 8	French 2	—	—	—	4,678
Rockcastle County	0.8%	134	Spanish 97	Other Slavic 19	German 10	Other Native North American 6	African languages 2	—	15,987
Cumberland County	0.6%	38	German 22	Spanish 16	—	—	—	—	6,426
Estill County	0.6%	85	Spanish 30	Vietnamese 22	Hebrew 17	Other Asian 11	Other / unspecified 5	—	13,639
Owen County	0.5%	54	Spanish 52	Japanese 2	—	—	—	—	10,157
Owsley County	0.4%	18	Spanish 12	French 4	German 2	—	—	—	4,357
Leslie County	0.3%	31	Spanish 20	Other Indo-European 5	German 3	Tagalog / Filipino 2	Chinese 1	—	10,320
Magoffin County	0.3%	42	Spanish 29	Italian 8	Other Native North American 5	—	—	—	12,232
Wolfe County	0.2%	14	Spanish 14	—	—	—	—	—	6,805
Caldwell County	0.1%	14	Spanish 14	—	—	—	—	—	12,074

No counties found.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2011–2015 5-Year Estimates, Table B16001 · Population age 5 and over

About the Data

Data on this page comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2011–2015 5-Year Estimates, table B16001, Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over. Statewide and county estimates use the same Census table so the figures can be compared consistently across the page.

The estimates describe languages spoken at home among residents age 5 and older. Census estimates include margins of error, particularly for smaller counties and less common language groups.

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Languages Spoken in Kentucky: Map and County Data

Languages Spoken Across Kentucky Counties

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Kentucky

Key Language Findings for Kentucky

How Language Use Varies Across Kentucky Counties

English Proficiency and Language Access in Kentucky

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