Kentucky's Bluegrass Region

Only 75 miles from Cincinnati and Louisville, Greater LEX’s proximity to three major airports means you can reach global destinations within a day’s time. While our world-renowned bourbon and horse farms put us on the map, it’s our friendly and educated residents, global employers, stellar outdoor recreation and eclectic farm-to-table food scene that makes us one of the best places to live, according to Travel & Leisure. With more than 16,000 open jobs across diverse industries and a cost of living lower than the national average, your paycheck can be spent sipping, saving and savoring life here in Greater LEX.

Comprising nearly 700,000 people, our nine counties — Fayette, Woodford, Jessamine, Madison, Clark, Montgomery, Bourbon, Scott and Franklin — offer several options for where to live. Variety is key here, and with median home costs nearly 30% below the national average, you’re sure to find the perfect place to rest your head. We fully embrace southern porch culture, where nights are spent chatting with your neighbors and enjoying all four seasons.

The Greater LEX Region is one of the most educated in the country, with 45 percent of the population 25 years or older holding at least a bachelor’s degree and 19.3 percent with a graduate or professional degree. We’re home to ten colleges and universities and five professional and technical colleges, including the state’s flagship university, University of Kentucky. While our universities are known for strong programs in life sciences, agtech and business, we also boast some opportunities that are uniquely Kentucky. Plus, we’re home to some of the top public and private K-12 schools in the state, with Woodford County High School ranked the No. 7 school in Kentucky.

Our region is a growing magnet for careers in advanced manufacturing, life sciences & healthcare, logistics, technology and business & professional services. Home to global brands like Lockheed Martin, Valvoline and Amazon and more than 16,000 open jobs, working in Greater LEX means crafting some of the world’s best-known brands — from building Toyota Camrys at the Georgetown Toyota plant, the company’s largest vehicle manufacturing plant in the world, to diverse careers as a supervisor or tour operator at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort or another of 15 bourbon distilleries in our region.

In Greater LEX, you can find world-class healthcare in your own backyard. Get easy access to the No. 1 hospital in the state, the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital, and healthcare practitioners that specialize in patient-centric care across our three regional hospitals — Saint Joseph Hospital, Baptist Health and UK HealthCare. With nearly 17 percent of our workforce employed in healthcare and social services, we’re constantly innovating and advancing lifesaving research across the Bluegrass region.

From rolling pastures of Midway to the vibrant cultural scene in downtown Lexington, the best of Kentucky is right here in the Bluegrass Region. We pride ourselves on being a welcoming and friendly area where you can actually get to know your neighbors. Gather your friends and go for a paddle on Elkhorn Creek and then explore our Brewgrass Trail. Whether you’re an arts aficionado, a sports fanatic or passionate about outdoor recreation, you’ll find it all Greater LEX.

We take our food seriously in the south — with heartwarming staples like the country ham and pimento cheese sandwich at Wallace Station and the Hot Brown sandwich at Ramsey’s Diner. We also specialized in farm-to-table dining before it was cool, with Georgetown-based Local Feed using regional farms to produce their seasonal menu or the Berea College Farm — the oldest, continually operating college farm in the nation. And of course, we can’t ignore our roots. There are more barrels of bourbon than people in Kentucky, which is probably why we’re home to the world-renowned Bourbon Trail and a budding craft brewery scene known as the Brewgrass Trail. One thing’s for sure, you’ll never leave the table hungry… or thirsty.