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With over 4,206,074 people, Kentucky ranks 26th in population among the United States. The largest
cities in the Bluegrass State are Louisville,
with a population of 701,500 in the Louisville-Jefferson County area, Lexington-Fayette, Owensboro,
Bowling Green, Hopkinsville, capital city Frankfort, Henderson, Richmond, and Jeffersontown.
Kentucky’s economy historically relied heavily upon agriculture. Agricultural products remain
important to the Bluegrass State today. Kentucky crops include tobacco, with Kentucky as the 2nd
largest producer in the nation; field crops such as grain, soybeans, wheat, sorghum, and barley; hay
and alfalfa. Horses, cattle, dairy products, and hogs are also important agricultural commodities for
the state.
Kentucky is famous for its mineral wealth in regards to coal. Coal mining gained prominence for the
economy by the late 19th century; today Kentucky is the top producer in the nation of bituminous
coal. Other important minerals include crushed stone, lime, Portland cement, ball clays, and common
clay. Sand and gravel are also important.
Industries of economic importance to the Bluegrass State include services, government, insurance,
real estate, the manufacture of transportation equipment, chemical products, electric equipment,
machinery, fabricated metals, appliances, food processing, tobacco products, agricultural research,
and tourism. Additionally, Kentucky distills a large portion of the nation’s whiskey.
With regards to Kentucky’s cost of living, in 2005, the Bluegrass State had a median household
income of $37,369 and a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $28,272. The average annual growth rate
of PCPI between 1995 and 2005 was 4.1 percent, the same as the average annual rate of 4.1 percent for
the nation. Kentucky boasts a home ownership rate of 71.6 percent. The unemployment rate is 5.7
percent. Kentucky levies a sales tax of 6 percent, with food and prescription drugs exempt; the upper
bracket of personal income tax is at 6 percent.
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