Population:

26th largest U.S. State by population, with 4,314,113 people (2009 estimate).
37th largest state in the country by area, at 40,409 square miles.

Largest city: Louisville

Median income:$41,538 (2008 estimate)

Climate:
Yearly rainfall: 43.5 inches per year
Yearly snowfall: 16.4 inches per year in Louisville
Temperatures (High/Low) in capital city of Frankfort:
January, 39/21; July, 87/63

Foreclosures:
Foreclosure activity for 2009 increased in Kentucky over the prior year. There was a total of 9,682 properties with filings. That works out to a rate of one filing for every 197 households, which compares to the United States average of 45, and is about one half of one percent of the state’s housing units.

Those figures represent a 33 percent increase over 2008 and a 89 percent increase over 2007.

In 2008 there were about 75,300 existing homes (including condos, co-ops, and single-family homes but excluding new homes) sold in Kentucky, compared to about 91,800 sold in 2007.

Economy:
Known mostly as an agriculture state, Kentucky has become the nation's 4th biggest auto manufacturer in recent years thanks to major presences from Toyota, GM and Ford. Kentucky is the national leader in horse breeding, and its economy also relies on horses, livestock, coal and tobacco in addition to manufacturing. Kentucky is relatively poor, ranked 43rd in per-capita income, but a low cost of living helps to offset low earnings.

Noteworthy:
Both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, were born in Kentucky roughly 100 miles apart.