Real estate · Metro area · Kentucky
Real estate businesses in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area
How the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #346 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 968
- 39 chain locations (4%)
- Official establishments
- 550
- +30.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $3.3B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $15,124 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 78
- 22% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 44.8
- 16% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 535,174
- +3.4% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Lexington-Fayette metro area
The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Lexington-Fayette metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in the Lexington-Fayette metro area is 34 (lower middle), #346 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
At $15,124 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in the Lexington-Fayette metro area spend about $3.3B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 22% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.
There are 968 real estate businesses on map listings in the Lexington-Fayette metro area as of September 2026. 39 of them (4%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 44.8, 16% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Official counts show 550 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Lexington-Fayette metro area in 2023, up 30.0% from 2019. That is one for every 393 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $928K have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Lexington-Fayette metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Lexington-Fayette metro area grew 3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Lexington-Fayette metro area compares
The same measures for Kentucky and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Lexington-Fayette metro area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 44.8 | 27.4 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 78 | 120 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 393 | 683 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +30.0% | +20.5% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $15,124 | $14,283 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $71,966 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 34 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 550+30.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,146
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $124.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 2,400Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 96839 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 755The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $928K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Lexington-Fayette metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Lexington-Fayette metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 535,174+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 216,273
- Median age
- 38.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 59%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,470 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 355
- Median household income
- $71,966+22.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,014
- Median home value
- $281,300
- Jobs located here
- 289,772
- Daytime population
- 573,681Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lexington-Fayette metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Lexington-Fayette metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Kentucky (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Lexington-Fayette metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 62 | 223 | 14.7 | 216 | −2.6% | #73 of 387 |
| 1Bowling Green, KY | 59 | 211 | 28.8 | 113 | +9.5% | #104 of 387 |
| 2Paducah, KY-IL | 58 | 91 | 21.8 | 149 | −1.2% | #107 of 387 |
| 3Elizabethtown, KY | 53 | 145 | 28.6 | 117 | +2.4% | #154 of 387 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 52 | 2,696 | 29.7 | 115 | +2.7% | #163 of 387 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 48 | 530 | 42.4 | 78 | +8.5% | #208 of 387 |
| 4Owensboro, KY | 47 | 138 | 30.5 | 109 | +1.3% | #211 of 387 |
| 5Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 41 | 1,994 | 35.7 | 96 | +2.9% | #272 of 387 |
| 6Lexington-Fayette, KY | 34 | 968 | 44.8 | 78 | +3.4% | #346 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lexington-Fayette metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 968 real estate businesses in the Lexington-Fayette metro area. 39 of them (4%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 550 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 30.0% from 2019. Official counts list 2,400 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $3.3B a year, or $15,124 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 968 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 22% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 216,273 households in the Lexington-Fayette metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The Lexington-Fayette metro area has 44.8 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 78, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Lexington-Fayette metro area would have about 755, against 968 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 393 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 30.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lexington-Fayette metro area at 535,174 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 216,273 households. Median household income in the Lexington-Fayette metro area is $71,966, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.6%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Lexington-Fayette metro area scores 34 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #346 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Lexington-Fayette metro area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Lexington-Fayette metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lexington-Fayette metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Lexington-Fayette metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.