The Bluegrass has 603,075 residents according to 2009 Census Bureau estimates. The region’s population, which includes the counties of Bourbon, Clark, Fayette (Lexington), Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Scott, and Woodford, has grown close to 15% overall since the 2000 Census.
The Bluegrass Region’s (and especially Lexington’s) population is younger, on average, than either Kentucky or the United States. The median age of Lexington-Fayette County is 35.3 years old and rises slightly to 35.7 years old when the rest of the MSA is included. Kentucky’s median age is 37.8 years old while the United States’ median age is 36.9 years old.
Overall, the Bluegrass closely mirrors the state of Kentucky (49m/51f) in terms of its gender split. Fayette County is the closest to a true 50-50 split, with several counties in the Bluegrass displaying a more pronounced female bias. This is most likely due to a higher median age in the surrounding counties.
Location
Lexington is located at the center of a 31 state distribution area and is within a 600-mile radius of the majority of the nation's manufacturing employment, retail sales, and population. By virtue of this geographic location and Kentucky's integrated system of state maintained roads, interstates and parkways, the Bluegrass is within overnight range of over half of the U.S. market.
Economy
The largest employer in the Bluegrass Region is the University of Kentucky, employing over 12,000 educators, administrators and support staff. Toyota is the largest manufacturer and Saint Joseph Healthcare is the largest solely healthcare employer in the region. The Fayette County Public School system and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government are the largest single government organizations in the area.
The Bluegrass is a greater than $20 billion economy marked by consistent, sustainable growth. Between 2001 and 2008, the Bluegrass’ economy has grown 20% overall which translates to a real compound annual growth rate of 2.3% - higher than both the state of Kentucky and the USA. In particular, the Bluegrass’ goods-producing sector outpaced the USA as a whole by a factor of 2.
Education
Building on its early reputation as the Athens of the West, Lexington continues to excel in education. Along with some of the best public schools in the state, Lexington also has one of the best educated labor forces in the nation. Census data for cities over 250,000 people ranks the city as the thirteenth most highly educated in the nation based on the 39.1% of the population 25 years or older that has at least a Bachelor’s degree. Even more impressive, when education levels all the way down to high school graduates are considered, Lexington claims the title of second most educated workforce in the nation (Business Facilities, 2008), trailing only Seattle, Washington.
Chamber Resources
The information gathered by Commerce Lexington assists entrepreneurs who are starting a business, out of state companies looking to relocate, and existing businesses looking to expand, as well as providing an online resource for chamber members and site selection consultants.
For a comprehensive resource of available economic data, view Commerce Lexington's Business Prospectus.
The Commerce Lexington Business Prospectus is a compilation of all the available economic, demographic, and quality of life data for Lexington and the surrounding region.
A condensed version of the Business Prospectus, the Economic Digest is also available.
Bluegrass Region Top Employers
Bluegrass Accolades and Rankings
For information about the data presented on the Commerce Lexington Inc. website, contact Josh Fenner, Director of Research, at (859) 226- 1620 or jfenner@com mercelexington.com.
Other Links
Expanding companies and manufacturing list:
www.thinkkentucky.com/kyedc/busdirectories.as p
Information about KY counties (Kentucky Desktop of Economic Information):
www.thinkkentucky.com/edis/deskbook/
Fayette County Quick Facts:
www.thinkkentucky.com/edis/cmnty/cw053/Quick Facts.htm
Building Permits:
http://www.lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx? page=1135
Census Business Information:
http://censtats.census.gov/cbpnaic/cbpnaic.sht ml
Census Population Data:
http://ksdc.louisville.edu/
Census Information-General:
http://www.census.gov/
Workforce Statistics:
www.workforcekentucky.ky.gov/
Bureau of Labor Statistics:
http://www.bls.gov
Employment Data:
http://stats.bls.gov/eag/eag.ky_lexington.htm< /a>
Consumer Price Index:
www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm
Health Care Data:
www.chs.state.ky.us/publichealth/data- warehouse.htm