Short-term rental permit and license records on file with 2 local registries, as of July 2026 — compiled, deduplicated, and free to cite. Part of Cavmir's U.S. STR permit data hub.
Kentucky's public short-term rental data comes from Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government — short-term rentals and 1 other local program(s). Louisville accounts for the largest share, with 997 records on file.
The headline figure counts short-term rental permit and license records on file with 2 local registries, deduplicated by permit number. A license is not a listing: some licenses cover multiple units, some licensed homes sit unrented, and jurisdictions that publish nothing are missing entirely. Treat it as a verified floor for the size of Kentucky's legal short-term rental market — not a census.
A public registry means the competitive field in Louisville is countable — 997 operators who all show up in the same search results your guests use. The ones that stand out treat their listing like a small hotel brand: professional photography, a point of view, and a direct-booking path.
The official registries we compiled show 1,722 short-term rental permit and license records on file with 2 local registries as of July 2026. Not every Kentucky jurisdiction publishes its data, so the true statewide figure is higher.
In the Kentucky markets covered here, short-term rental permitting runs through city and county programs. The registries in this compilation: Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government — short-term rentals, Louisville Metro — short-term rental registry. Rules and requirements vary by jurisdiction — always confirm with the local program directly.
By records on file: Louisville (997), Lexington (725). Louisville leads with 997.
Directly from the official registries listed on this page, pulled and deduplicated in July 2026. No records are estimated or modeled — see the methodology on the national data page for what was excluded and why.
These numbers are free to use in articles, research, and reports — no permission needed. We ask for one thing: credit Cavmir and link to this page so readers can check the source.
Cavmir, “Kentucky Short-Term Rental Permit Data,” compiled from official state, city, and county registries, July 2026. https://cavmir.com/data/kentucky-short-term-rental-permits/Cavmir markets short-term rentals in Kentucky — photography-led listings, direct-booking websites, and local SEO built around how guests actually search. The registry tells you how many competitors you have; we make sure you do not look like any of them.
