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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY

Population: 321,276 (2022) · Large Cities (250K+)

Reviewed by CitySpend Editorial Team · Updated
A
84/100

Excellent fiscal health, strong reserves, low debt, well-funded pensions

Get Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY's next budget breakdown

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Total Spending
$4.3B
Per Capita
$13,449
Total Revenue
$5.3B
Total Debt
$0

Spending Breakdown

Other
29.6%$1.3B
Housing & Community Development
16.1%$697.4M
Utilities
14.7%$633.6M
Police
9.6%$415.6M
Health
8.1%$351.9M
Parks & Recreation
7.8%$338.8M
Interest on Debt
7.3%$316.6M
Hospitals
2.0%$88.3M
Fire Protection
1.7%$71.4M
Sewerage
1.4%$59.3M
Education
1.0%$41.7M
Public Welfare
0.6%$27.2M

Spending data sourced from the Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances. Per-capita comparisons use the Lincoln Institute's Fiscally Standardized Cities methodology for fair cross-city benchmarking.

Revenue Sources

Sales Tax
2.2%$116.2M
Income Tax
1.4%$74.5M
Intergovernmental
28.1%$1.5B
Other
53.2%$2.8B

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police$1,294/person
Fire Protection$222/person
Parks & Recreation$1,054/person
Education$130/person
Health$1,095/person

Score Breakdown

Budget Balance & Reserves (25%)98/100
Debt Burden (20%)100/100
Pension Funding (20%)76/100
Spending Efficiency (15%)100/100
Revenue Diversity (10%)38/100
Trend Direction (10%)50/100

Compare Cities

See how Lexington-Fayette urban county stacks up against another city.

vs Louisville/Jefferson County metro government (balance), KYvs Bowling Green, KYvs Owensboro, KY
Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023). Population from American Community Survey.

Other Cities in Kentucky

Frequently Asked Questions

Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY spends $13,449 per resident, based on total expenditures of $4.3B for a population of 321,276. The city has a Fiscal Health Score of A (84/100).

Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY has total expenditures of $4.3B and total revenue of $5.3B. The city carries $0 in total debt, based on Census Bureau data from 2023.

Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY employs 0 government workers, of which 0 are full-time. The average government salary is $0, with 0.0 employees per 10,000 residents.

Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY has a Fiscal Health Score of A (84/100). This score evaluates budget balance, debt burden, pension funding, spending efficiency, revenue diversity, and 3-year fiscal trajectory compared to peer cities of similar population.

For Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY, the underlying data on this page comes from the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.

Every number on this page links back to the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.

For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY is typically a peer within U.S. cities, counties, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.