Kentucky County Map: All 120 Counties

Under Section 144 of the 1891 Kentucky Constitution, each county’s governing body is titled the "Fiscal Court." The Fiscal Court can follow one of two constitutional configurations: a commission form (composed of the County Judge/Executive and three county commissioners elected from districts) or a magisterial form (composed of the County Judge/Executive and between three and eight Magistrates, also called Justices of the Peace).

The County Judge/Executive is the chief executive officer of county government. While historic courtroom trial powers were transferred to state District Judges under the Judicial Article of 1975, the County Judge/Executive retains absolute administrative authority over county roads, budgets, county police departments, and emergency services.

Consolidated urban-county governments represent major modern milestones: Lexington-Fayette consolidated in 1974 (the first in Kentucky), and Louisville-Jefferson County consolidated in 2003 to create the modern Louisville Metro Government.

Also known as the "New Madrid Bend" or "Bubbleland," the Kentucky Bend encompasses approximately 27 square miles of Mississippi River alluvial peninsula. It is encircled on the north, west, and east by an oxbow meander loop of the Mississippi River, while its southern land border connects directly to Lake County, Tennessee.

Because the Kentucky state border follows the historic 36°30′ parallel established by colonial royal charters, surveyors recognized that the Mississippi River looped north of the line twice before continuing south. Consequently, this fertile river peninsula belongs legally to Fulton County, Kentucky, even though traveling overland to the rest of Fulton County requires driving through Tennessee.