Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 295,803 in the 2010 Census. Its territory, population and government are coextensive with the city of Lexington, which also serves as county seat.
Fayette County is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area is the 106th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the United States. It was originally formed by the United States Census Bureau in 1950 and consisted solely of Fayette County until 1980 when surrounding counties saw increases in their population densities and the number of their residents employed within Lexington-Fayette, which led to them meeting Census criteria to be added to the MSA.
The Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA is the primary MSA of the Lexington-Fayette-Frankfort-Richmond, KY Combined Statistical Area which includes the Micropolitan Statistical Areas of Frankfort, KY (Franklin and Anderson counties), Mount Sterling, KY (Montgomery, Bath, and Menifee counties), and Richmond-Berea, KY (Madison and Rockcastle counties). The Lexington-Fayette-Frankfort-Richmond, KY Combined Statistical Area has a July 1, 2005 Census Bureau estimated population of 635,642.