ZIP Code 40503

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest in the United States. Known as the "Horse Capital of the World", it is within the state's Bluegrass region. Notable locations in the city include the Kentucky Horse Park, The Red Mile and Keeneland race courses, Rupp Arena, Central Bank Center, Transylvania University, the University of Kentucky, and Bluegrass Community and Technical College. As of the 2020 census the population was 322,570, anchoring a metropolitan area of 516,811 people and a combined statistical area of 747,919 people. Lexington is consolidated entirely within Fayette County, and vice versa. It has a nonpartisan mayor-council form of government, with 12 council districts and three members elected at large, with the highest vote-getter designated vice mayor.Lexington was named in June 1775, in what was then considered Fincastle County, Virginia, 17 years before Kentucky became a state. A party of frontiersmen, led by William McConnell, camped on the Middle Fork of Elkhorn Creek (now known as Town Branch and rerouted under Vine Street) at the site of the present-day McConnell Springs. Upon hearing of the colonists' victory in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, they named the site Lexington. On January 25, 1780, 45 original settlers signed the Lexington Compact. On May 6, 1782, the town of Lexington was chartered by an act of the Virginia General Assembly.

History

Lexington was named in June 1775, in what was then considered Fincastle County, Virginia, 17 years before Kentucky became a state. A party of frontiersmen, led by William McConnell, camped on the Middle Fork of Elkhorn Creek at the site of the present-day McConnell Springs. 45 original settlers signed the Lexington Compact, known also as the "Articles of Agreement, made by the inhabitants of the town of Lexington, in the County of Kentucky" The settlement at Lexington at this time was also known as Fort Lexington, as it was surrounded by fortifications to protect from the British and from Indians. Around 1790, the First African Baptist Church was founded in Lexington by Peter Durrett, a Baptist preacher and slave held by Joseph Craig. This church is the oldest black Baptist congregation in Kentucky and the third-oldest in the United States. In the early 19th century, Lexington planter John Wesley Hunt became the first millionaire west of the Alleghenies. Henry Clay, a lawyer who married into one of the wealthiest families of Kentucky, helped to lead the War Hawks, pushing for war with Great Britain to bolster the markets of American products. The growing town was devastated by a cholera epidemic in 1833, which had spread throughout the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. Nearly one-third of the congregation of Christ Episcopal Church in Lexington stayed in the city to serve the suffering victims, although they worked as domestic servants and artisans, as well.

Geography

The Lexington-Fayette metro area includes five additional counties: Clark, Jessamine, Woodford, and Scott. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 285.5 square miles (739 km²) The city and the surrounding Bluegrass region have four distinct seasons that include cool plateau breezes, moderate nights in the summer, and no prolonged periods of heat, cold, rain, wind, or snow. The annual mean temperature is 56.3 °F (13.5 °C) on average, 25 days per winter where the high is equal to or less than freezing. Annual precipitation is 49.84 inches (1,270 mm), with the late spring and summer being slightly wetter; snowfall averages 14.5 inches (37 cm) per season.Lexington is in the northern periphery of the humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa), with hot, humid summers and occasional mild periods; it falls in USDA hardiness zone 6b. The city is recognized as a high allergy area by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAF) and the American Heart Association (AHA) It is the second-largest metro area in Kentucky after Louisville, with a population of 1.3 million. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city's population at 1.4 million. It is located in the eastern part of the state, near the Kentucky-Louisville border. It has a population density of about 1.2 million people per square mile (1.1 million per km²).

Demographics

The Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Jessamine, Scott, and Woodford Counties. The MSA population is 516,811 as of the 2020 census. The most common spoken language in Lexington is English, but there are approximately 196 languages from all parts of the world spoken in Lexington. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish followed by Swahili. Local estimates drawn from English Language Learner enrollment in Fayette County Public Schools estimates that approximately 23% of the total Lexington population are foreign language speakers. The median income for a household in the city was $57,291 in 2019, slightly below the national average of $62,843 and for a family was $53,264. About 8.7% of families and 14.6%. of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under the age of 18 and 9.4%. of those ages 65 and older. The average household size was 2.37, and the average family size was2.99. The population density was 1,137.3 people per square mile (439.1/km²). The racial makeup was 70.7%. non-Hispanic White, 15.6. Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 4.1% Asian, 0,1% Pacific Islander, and 2.7. from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.4% ofthe population.

Economy

Lexington describes itself as having "a fortified economy, strong in manufacturing, technology, and entrepreneurial support" The Lexington Metro Area had an unemployment rate of 3.7% in August 2015, lower than many cities of similar size. Sizable employment is generated by four Fortune 500 companies: Xerox (which acquired Affiliated Computer Services), Lexmark International, Lockheed-Martin, and IBM. United Parcel Service, Trane, and Amazon.com, Inc. have large operations in the city. A Jif peanut butter plant located here produces more peanut butter than any other factory in the world. The city's largest employer, the University of Kentucky, employed 16,743 as of 2020. The Fayette County Public Schools employ 5,374, and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government employs 2,699. Central Baptist Hospital, Saint Joseph Hospital, and Saint Joseph East, and Veterans Administration Hospital employ 7,000 persons in total. A&W Restaurants, a restaurant chain known for root beer, and Fazoli's, an Italian-American fast-food chain, are among the city's other major employers. The Lexington CSA is home to several large corporations, including Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky and Link-Belt Construction Equipment, a designer and manufacturer of telescopic and lattice boom cranes. Lexington has one of the nation's most stable economies, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It has a population of 1.2 million.

Culture

Lexington has one of the highest concentrations of gay and lesbian couples in the United States for a city its size. The Woolworth's building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as a site of protests during the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. The Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra presents several annual concerts. The Woodland Arts Fair is almost four decades old. The Kentucky Horse Park hosts a three-mile drive through the park, showcasing numerous displays, many in character with the horse industry and history of Lexington. The American black bear that overdosed on cocaine that was dropped from smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II's airplane -- an incident which inspired the 2023 movie Cocaine Bear -- has been stuffed and can be visited at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall. The city's art galleries are open to the public on the third Friday of January, March, May, July, September, and November, and the Lexington Opera House is the only accredited museum in the region. The Lexington Ballet Company performs their annual Nutcracker Ballet. Other historic sites include: Woolworth’s, the Kentucky Opera House, the Lexington Art Museum, and  the Kentucky State Museum, which is home to a collection of more than 4,000 pieces of art from all over the world, including works by Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, and Picasso. The University of Kentucky Art Museum is the premier art museum for Lexington, and hosts special exhibitions.

Sports

Lexington is home to the Lexington Legends and Wild Health Genomes, members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Kentucky Wildcats, the athletic program of the University of Kentucky, is Lexington's most popular sports entity. In September and October 2010, Lexington was the first city outside of Europe to host the World Equestrian Games. In 2017, Lexington hosted the World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship, the most competitive bike polo tournament in the world. The city is also home to two horse-racing tracks, Keeneland and The Red Mile harness track. Lexington SC of third-division professional soccer league USL League One is set to play its inaugural season in 2023 at University ofKentucky's Bell Soccer Complex. In early 2022, Lexington SC submitted a proposal to secure permissions for the construction of a downtown soccer-specific stadium near Rupp Arena and Central Bank Center. The stadium would provide approximately 6,000+ seats and is expected to open in 2024. Lexington is the home to Roller Derby of Central Kentucky and Lexington Bike Polo League. The Lexington Police Department is based in the city's downtown area and has been in charge of investigations into crime and violence in the area since the 1980s. The department has been involved in the investigation of crime in Lexington since the 1990s. It has also been involved with the investigation into the shooting death of a man in Lexington in 2011. The police department has also investigated the shooting of a woman in 2012. The officer who shot the woman was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, but later released.

Parks and outdoor attractions

Lexington has over 100 parks, ranging in size from the 8,719-square-foot (810.0 m2) Smith Street Park to the 659-acre (2.7 km²) Masterson Station Park. The city is home to Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, a 734-acre nature preserve along the Kentucky River Palisades. The Arboretum is a 100-acre preserve adjacent to the University of Kentucky. The historic McConnell Springs is a 26-acre park within the industrial confines off Old Frankfort Pike. There are five public golf courses at Kearney Hill Links, Lakeside, Meadowbrook, Tates Creek, and Picadome. A public skate park at Woodland Park, featuring 12,000 square feet (1,100 m 2) of "ramps, platforms, bowls, and pipes" There are three public 18-hole disc golf courses, at Shillito Park, Jacobson Park, and Veterans Park. There is also a public dog park at Jacobson, Masterson station, Coldstream, Pleasant Ridge, and Wellington. It is possible to play disc golf in the city with a membership of $50 or more per person per year, or $100 or more for a family of four or more people per year. It can also be played on a golf course with a fee of up to $100 per person, or at a dog park with a charge of $25 per person. It's possible to use the city's public parks to play golf.

Government and politics

The Urban County Council is a 15-member legislative group. The Lexington Fire Department is the largest single fire department in Kentucky with over 600 personnel. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Division of Police is authorized for 639 sworn police officers and 16 traffic safety officers. The Fayette County Sheriff's Office is responsible for court service, including court security, prisoner transport, process and warrant service, and property tax collection. In 1992, the Kentucky General Assembly enabled a correctional services division to be established by ordinance, making employees civil-service employees rather than political appointees. The current council members as of 2021 are:Third District Council Member Jake Gibbs died unexpectedly on March 3, 2020. Mayor Linda Gorton appointed Mark Swanson to complete Gibbs' term. The current mayor of Lexington is Linda Gortan, who took office on January 1, 2013. She was elected to a four-year term in November 2012. She is the first woman to serve as mayor of the city of Lexington in the state's history. The city has a population of 1.2 million. The county seat is Lexington, which is located in the eastern part of the county. The population of Lexington was 1.3 million in 2010. The state's population is 1.4 million. It is the second-largest county in Kentucky after Fayette, which has a total population of 2.1 million. Lexington is the third-largest city in Kentucky, after Louisville and Lexington. The U.S. state of Kentucky is the fourth-largest state.

Education

According to the United States Census, of Lexington's population over the age of 25, 22.4% hold a bachelor's degree. The city is served by the Fayette County Public Schools. The two traditional colleges are the University of Kentucky, which is the state's flagship public university, and Transylvania University, the first four-year university west of the Alleghenies. The school system currently consists of six district high schools, 12 middle schools, one combined middle/high school, and 37 elementary schools, and is supplemented with many private schools. FCPS opened two new elementary schools in August 2016, and opened a new high school in August 2017. According to the U.S. Census, 3.1% of the city's residents hold a professional degree, and 2.6% of them hold a doctoral degree. In the city, the average high school diploma is a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. The average bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree is a Master of Science or Master of Arts degree or higher, and the average doctorate or doctorate is a Doctor of Philosophy or higher. In Lexington, the median age of a Lexington resident is 25 years old, and it is the highest in the state. The median high school GPA is a 3.0. The state's average high high school graduation rate is a 4.3. The national average is a 5.0, with the national average for high school seniors at age 25 being the highest.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky = 68.2. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 70. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 99. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Lexington = 4.4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 322,570 individuals with a median age of 35.3 age the population grows by 8.70% in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,137.26 residents per square mile of area (439.10/km²). There are average 2.24 people per household in the 120,502 households with an average household income of $46,751 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is of the available work force and has dropped -3.32% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 25.56%. The number of physicians in Lexington per 100,000 population = 493.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Lexington = 45.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 17 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 130. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 188. 86 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 24.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 41, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky which are owned by the occupant = 52.35%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 30 years with median home cost = $158,000 and home appreciation of -3.65%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $8.19 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,891 per student. There are 15.3 students for each teacher in the school, 411 students for each Librarian and 574 students for each Counselor. 6.54% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 21.73% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 14.82% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).