Gross domestic product
$313.6 billion
2025 · Current dollars · BEA SAGDP1 line 3
$313,566.3 million. Published September 30, 2026.
Kentucky Economy: GDP, Income and Employment
Kentucky produced $313.6 billion in current-dollar GDP in 2025, 1.02% of the published U.S. total. Its real output changed 3.00% from 2024.
Real GDP growth
3.00%
2025 vs. 2024 · Annual change
Calculated from BEA SAGDP1 line 1, chained 2017 dollars.
Unemployment rate
4.7%
August 2026 · Seasonally adjusted · Preliminary
BLS LAUS · Published September 18, 2026.
Payroll job growth
-0.09%
August 2026 vs. August 2025 · Seasonally adjusted
BLS state CES · 2,034.2 thousand nonfarm jobs.
Personal income per capita
$60,835
2025 · Dollars per resident · BEA SAINC1 line 3
Before personal current taxes. Published September 30, 2026.
Regional price level
90.159
2024 · U.S. = 100 · BEA all-items RPP
Published February 19, 2026. This measures price levels, not inflation.
Kentucky compared with the United States
Annual real GDP growth was 0.65 percentage points above the U.S. annual growth rate in 2025. Personal income per resident was $16,193 below the U.S. value of $77,028 in the same year. These comparisons use national observations from the same regional producer files.
The August unemployment rate was 0.6 percentage points above the national 4.1% reading. That numerical difference is not a statistical-significance claim. The 2024 price parity was 9.8% below the national benchmark. Household circumstances and local housing markets can differ from these state averages.
Where Kentucky ranks among states
- Largest state economies#29 of 50 · 2025
- Fastest-growing state economies#7 of 50 · 2025
- Economic output per resident#43 of 50 · 2025
- Personal income per resident#47 of 50 · 2025
- Lowest state unemployment rates#40 of 50 · August 2026
- Fastest payroll job growth#40 of 50 · August 2026
- Lowest state price levels#12 of 50 · 2024
GDP and income history
Current-dollar output rose 54.0% between 2017 and 2025 in this acquired history. That figure includes price change and is separate from real output growth. The chart uses the published price-adjusted total; chained-dollar industry components are not added together.
| Year | Nominal GDP, $ millions | Real GDP, chained 2017 $ millions | Income per resident, $ | All-items price parity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 313,566.3 | 239,507.8 | 60,835 | Not published |
| 2024 | 296,708.8 | 232,543.0 | 58,270 | 90.159 |
| 2023 | 284,546.9 | 228,518.9 | 55,618 | 89.890 |
| 2022 | 261,985.2 | 220,855.2 | 52,599 | 89.402 |
| 2021 | 238,136.6 | 215,546.0 | 51,941 | 89.246 |
| 2020 | 218,433.1 | 206,057.8 | 47,084 | 89.078 |
| 2019 | 220,675.5 | 211,732.7 | 43,464 | 89.597 |
| 2018 | 210,509.1 | 205,908.4 | 41,654 | 89.071 |
| 2017 | 203,564.0 | 203,564.0 | 40,400 | 89.985 |
Missing 2025 price parities mean that year was not published in the acquired file. They are not treated as zero or estimated from another year.
Employment and unemployment history
Unemployment describes eligible resident jobseekers as a share of the civilian labor force. Payroll employment describes jobs at establishments in Kentucky. A commuter can live in another state; a person with multiple covered jobs can contribute multiple payroll jobs. Neither series substitutes for the other.
Scroll within the monthly table to read earlier observations; on narrow screens, scroll sideways for every column.
Monthly unemployment and payroll table
| Month | Unemployment, % | Payroll jobs, thousands | Unemployment status |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | 4.7 | 2,034.2 | Preliminary |
| July 2026 | 4.7 | 2,034.0 | Published |
| June 2026 | 4.7 | 2,031.0 | Published |
| May 2026 | 4.5 | 2,030.3 | Published |
| April 2026 | 4.3 | 2,034.2 | Published |
| March 2026 | 4.2 | 2,033.3 | Published |
| February 2026 | 4.2 | 2,032.1 | Published |
| January 2026 | 4.3 | 2,033.0 | Published |
| December 2025 | 4.4 | 2,029.3 | Published |
| November 2025 | 4.4 | 2,027.3 | Published |
| October 2025 | Not published | 2,028.7 | Not published |
| September 2025 | 4.5 | 2,032.1 | Published |
| August 2025 | 4.5 | 2,036.0 | Published |
| July 2025 | 4.6 | 2,035.9 | Published |
| June 2025 | 4.6 | 2,037.0 | Published |
| May 2025 | 4.7 | 2,040.2 | Published |
| April 2025 | 4.7 | 2,039.5 | Published |
| March 2025 | 4.7 | 2,036.1 | Published |
| February 2025 | 4.8 | 2,034.5 | Published |
| January 2025 | 4.8 | 2,027.5 | Published |
| December 2024 | 4.9 | 2,035.0 | Published |
| November 2024 | 4.9 | 2,037.0 | Published |
| October 2024 | 4.9 | 2,038.4 | Published |
| September 2024 | 4.9 | 2,039.4 | Published |
| August 2024 | 4.9 | 2,042.0 | Published |
| July 2024 | 4.9 | 2,036.7 | Published |
| June 2024 | 4.9 | 2,037.5 | Published |
| May 2024 | 4.8 | 2,036.2 | Published |
| April 2024 | 4.8 | 2,034.8 | Published |
| March 2024 | 4.7 | 2,035.9 | Published |
| February 2024 | 4.6 | 2,033.8 | Published |
| January 2024 | 4.6 | 2,032.6 | Published |
| December 2023 | 4.5 | 2,029.8 | Published |
| November 2023 | 4.5 | 2,026.2 | Published |
| October 2023 | 4.4 | 2,024.8 | Published |
| September 2023 | 4.4 | 2,024.0 | Published |
| August 2023 | 4.3 | 2,018.0 | Published |
| July 2023 | 4.2 | 2,013.4 | Published |
| June 2023 | 4.2 | 2,016.1 | Published |
| May 2023 | 4.1 | 2,011.9 | Published |
| April 2023 | 4.1 | 2,010.7 | Published |
| March 2023 | 4.1 | 2,010.2 | Published |
| February 2023 | 4.1 | 2,007.4 | Published |
| January 2023 | 4.1 | 2,006.4 | Published |
| December 2022 | 4.1 | 1,992.7 | Published |
| November 2022 | 4.1 | 1,990.9 | Published |
| October 2022 | 4.1 | 1,987.2 | Published |
| September 2022 | 4.1 | 1,984.3 | Published |
| August 2022 | 4.1 | 1,976.8 | Published |
| July 2022 | 4.0 | 1,968.3 | Published |
| June 2022 | 4.0 | 1,958.0 | Published |
| May 2022 | 4.0 | 1,957.5 | Published |
| April 2022 | 4.0 | 1,955.9 | Published |
| March 2022 | 4.0 | 1,950.1 | Published |
| February 2022 | 4.0 | 1,946.7 | Published |
| January 2022 | 4.0 | 1,937.0 | Published |
| December 2021 | 4.1 | 1,938.7 | Published |
| November 2021 | 4.2 | 1,931.7 | Published |
| October 2021 | 4.3 | 1,928.6 | Published |
| September 2021 | 4.4 | 1,907.6 | Published |
| August 2021 | 4.5 | 1,913.6 | Published |
| July 2021 | 4.5 | 1,906.3 | Published |
| June 2021 | 4.6 | 1,896.4 | Published |
| May 2021 | 4.5 | 1,892.2 | Published |
| April 2021 | 4.6 | 1,883.9 | Published |
| March 2021 | 4.6 | 1,886.5 | Published |
| February 2021 | 4.6 | 1,872.3 | Published |
| January 2021 | 4.6 | 1,876.0 | Published |
| December 2020 | 4.7 | 1,855.1 | Published |
| November 2020 | 4.8 | 1,856.7 | Published |
| October 2020 | 4.8 | 1,855.8 | Published |
| September 2020 | 5.0 | 1,846.5 | Published |
| August 2020 | 5.2 | 1,837.6 | Published |
| July 2020 | 5.8 | 1,814.2 | Published |
| June 2020 | 5.3 | 1,783.6 | Published |
| May 2020 | 12.8 | 1,694.5 | Published |
| April 2020 | 16.7 | 1,663.2 | Published |
| March 2020 | 4.1 | 1,940.3 | Published |
| February 2020 | 4.1 | 1,954.9 | Published |
| January 2020 | 4.1 | 1,952.2 | Published |
| December 2019 | 4.0 | 1,951.1 | Published |
| November 2019 | 4.0 | 1,952.0 | Published |
| October 2019 | 4.0 | 1,946.2 | Published |
| September 2019 | 4.0 | 1,951.0 | Published |
| August 2019 | 4.1 | 1,948.6 | Published |
| July 2019 | 4.1 | 1,950.2 | Published |
| June 2019 | 4.1 | 1,943.3 | Published |
| May 2019 | 4.1 | 1,944.4 | Published |
| April 2019 | 4.1 | 1,940.7 | Published |
| March 2019 | 4.1 | 1,938.1 | Published |
| February 2019 | 4.2 | 1,937.2 | Published |
| January 2019 | 4.2 | 1,939.0 | Published |
| December 2018 | 4.2 | 1,932.3 | Published |
| November 2018 | 4.2 | 1,936.9 | Published |
| October 2018 | 4.2 | 1,932.8 | Published |
| September 2018 | 4.2 | 1,934.1 | Published |
| August 2018 | 4.2 | 1,927.6 | Published |
| July 2018 | 4.2 | 1,930.8 | Published |
| June 2018 | 4.2 | 1,935.9 | Published |
| May 2018 | 4.2 | 1,931.7 | Published |
| April 2018 | 4.2 | 1,930.6 | Published |
| March 2018 | 4.2 | 1,926.1 | Published |
| February 2018 | 4.2 | 1,926.0 | Published |
| January 2018 | 4.2 | 1,921.1 | Published |
| December 2017 | 4.3 | 1,924.2 | Published |
| November 2017 | 4.4 | 1,925.6 | Published |
| October 2017 | 4.5 | 1,927.0 | Published |
| September 2017 | 4.6 | 1,923.1 | Published |
| August 2017 | 4.7 | 1,914.6 | Published |
| July 2017 | 4.8 | 1,916.7 | Published |
| June 2017 | 4.8 | 1,920.6 | Published |
| May 2017 | 4.9 | 1,917.5 | Published |
| April 2017 | 4.9 | 1,918.4 | Published |
| March 2017 | 5.0 | 1,919.8 | Published |
| February 2017 | 5.0 | 1,918.8 | Published |
| January 2017 | 5.1 | 1,915.3 | Published |
Largest published industries in Kentucky
The table orders non-overlapping broad sectors by their 2025 current-dollar GDP in BEA SAGDP2. These shares describe production structure; they do not establish the sectors responsible for the most recent real growth. Suppressed or unavailable cells are omitted rather than reconstructed.
| Industry | Producer classification | Output, $ millions | Share of state GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 31-33 | 49,307.9 | 15.72% |
| Government and government enterprises | 92 | 38,002.5 | 12.12% |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 53 | 35,203.5 | 11.23% |
| Health care and social assistance | 62 | 28,327.6 | 9.03% |
| Wholesale trade | 42 | 25,329.7 | 8.08% |
Manufacturing is the largest of the acquired broad sectors, at 15.7% of total nominal output. The next sectors are Government and government enterprises and Real estate and rental and leasing. The original industry classification and table line remain in the JSON download; no occupational wage or employment estimate is inferred from an output share.
Compare economies of a similar nominal size
The three states nearest Kentucky in 2025 nominal GDP are Utah, Alabama, Louisiana. These peers are selected by the absolute difference in total GDP, not by neighboring borders, household income, industry similarity or policy. Use the separate rankings to compare other dimensions.
Sources, downloads and geographic coverage
BEA state accounts: SAGDP1, SAINC1 and SARPP. BLS unemployment code: LASST210000000000003; payroll code: SMS21000000000000001. Geography: Kentucky, state FIPS 21; BEA area code 21000. Industry output uses the 2017 NAICS classification in SAGDP2. Original codes are text and must retain leading zeroes.
Source-file dates: GDP/income September 30, 2026; prices February 19, 2026; state labor September 18, 2026. Snapshot: regional-2026-09-30-reviewed. Estimates are revisable. This archive preserves the acquired figures and does not reproduce earlier published vintages. County or metro values are not inferred from this state profile.
Download state histories CSV · Dictionary and source checksums · BEA state GDP · BLS local unemployment · Compare regional purchasing power.