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Restaurants in Kentucky

How many restaurants exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 5 Kentucky counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

Includes: Sit-down restaurants with table service. Counted together because official statistics use one 722511 code.

State verdict (covered counties): In line with the U.S. rate — 94% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in Kentucky

Restaurants

1,208

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

6.0

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

6.4

per 10,000 present

State index

94%

vs. U.S.

Residents

1,592,309

in covered counties

Workers

831,584

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 5 Kentucky counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing restaurants and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in Kentucky

City	County	Restaurants	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Lexington	Fayette County	280–304	324,356	159,705	6.9	108–111%	Above average
Erlanger	Kenton County	121–127	166,567	73,908	5.9	93–96%	Below average
Louisville	Jefferson County	616–668	809,701	459,852	5.9	93–95%	Below average
Florence	Boone County	102–108	144,247	80,611	5.5	87–90%	Below average
Bowling Green	Warren County	89–99	147,438	57,508	5.1	79–86%	Below average

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

108%

93%

93%

87%

79%

Most competitors per capita

79%

87%

93%

93%

108%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few restaurants may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.