For checked deer relative to land area, Spencer County takes Kentucky's top spot. Its seasonal average during 2021-22 to 2025-26 was 9.69 deer per land square mile, leading all 120 counties statewide. Next come Pendleton at 9.38 and Anderson at 9.29. Among the highest-ranking 20 counties, 14 belong to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) Bluegrass region, whose boundaries include 31 counties out of 120. These rates use check-ins recorded by the KDFWR app for harvest records. They identify where hunters harvested the most deer relative to land area; herd size requires a separate answer.
KEY FINDINGS
- At 9.69 checked deer per land square mile, Spencer County tops the ranking. Its margin over Pendleton, at 9.38, is 0.31; over Anderson, at 9.29, it is 0.40. The median county statewide records 3.29.
- The Bluegrass accounts for fourteen counties among the highest 20, although the region contains 31 counties out of 120 statewide. It also includes Bourbon at 1.03 and Fayette at 0.84, both among the lowest ten.
- With a seasonal average of 3,358 check-ins, Hardin County has the largest deer total. Its land-area rate places it 23rd.
- Deer habitat supplies KDFWR's denominator. That makes its 2024-25 Spencer rate, 4.7 antlered deer for each habitat square mile, incomparable with our land-area rate of 4.32.
ITop of the list
A gap of just 0.4 separates Spencer, Pendleton and Anderson
For each county, we averaged deer check-ins across the five seasons covering 2021-22 to 2025-26. We then divided that seasonal mean by the county's land area in square miles. Spencer's result is 9.69, with Pendleton 0.31 behind and Anderson 0.40 behind. Those margins are small enough for us to treat the three together. The next counties are Bracken at 8.52, Washington at 8.45 and Robertson at 7.74.
Across Kentucky counties, the median rate is 3.29 checked deer per land square mile. Spencer therefore records about 2.9 times as many as the typical county on that basis. Among the twelve counties plotted, the gap is 3.07 between Spencer and Owen, whose rate is 6.62.
IIBy region
Among the highest 20 counties, 14 are Bluegrass; among the lowest 10, two are
In the harvest app, every county belongs to a KDFWR region, with five regions altogether. Of Kentucky's 120 counties, the Bluegrass contains 31, or about 26%. It contributes 14 counties among the highest 20, a share of 70%. Two come from the Northeast, Bracken and Robertson, and two from Green River, Hart and Webster. Purchase contributes one, Crittenden; the Southeast also contributes one, Green.
Being in that region offers no guarantee. Bluegrass counties Bourbon, at 1.03, and Fayette, at 0.84, place 117th and 120th, respectively. The agency report likewise puts Fayette at the bottom: KDFWR records 0.5 antlered deer for each habitat square mile there during 2024-25, the lowest county rate.
IIITotals against rates
Hardin leads in check-ins; its land-area rank is 23rd
No county reports a larger deer total than Hardin County, which averages 3,358 check-ins each season. By harvest relative to land area, however, Hardin places 23rd. The KDFWR report puts it atop the total-count ranking for 2024-25 as well, recording 3,228 deer. Its lead in total harvest therefore extends beyond our five-season calculation.
A total-harvest rank appears for each county in the table as well. Of the highest 20 counties by rate, half, or ten counties, also place among the highest 20 by total harvest. Six of those reach the highest 10 for total: Shelby at 4th, Hart at 5th, Crittenden at 6th, Pendleton at 7th, Nelson at 8th and Washington at 10th. Another five, Franklin, Campbell, Kenton, Robertson and Gallatin, place 46th or farther down the total ranking. Robertson's seasonal average is 771 deer, putting it 75th among 120 counties despite its sixth-place land-area rate. The calculation 771 divided by 7.74 gives about 100 square miles of land. With that little ground, raising the seasonal average by 100 deer would increase the rate by about 1.0. A small county can move through the rankings faster than a large county.
Swipe table to see every column
| Rank | County | Region | Deer per sq mi | Antlered per sq mi | Avg deer per season | Rank by total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spencer | Bluegrass | 9.69 | 4.32 | 1,809 | 21 |
| 2 | Pendleton | Bluegrass | 9.38 | 3.98 | 2,600 | 7 |
| 3 | Anderson | Bluegrass | 9.29 | 4.48 | 1,879 | 20 |
| 4 | Bracken | Northeast | 8.52 | 3.88 | 1,726 | 25 |
| 5 | Washington | Bluegrass | 8.45 | 3.82 | 2,513 | 10 |
| 6 | Robertson | Northeast | 7.74 | 3.59 | 771 | 75 |
| 7 | Crittenden | Purchase | 7.30 | 3.21 | 2,626 | 6 |
| 8 | Shelby | Bluegrass | 7.28 | 3.24 | 2,765 | 4 |
| 9 | Green | Southeast | 7.04 | 3.34 | 2,013 | 18 |
| 10 | Campbell | Bluegrass | 6.89 | 2.82 | 1,042 | 58 |
| 11 | Grant | Bluegrass | 6.67 | 3.14 | 1,720 | 27 |
| 12 | Owen | Bluegrass | 6.62 | 2.87 | 2,320 | 13 |
| 13 | Gallatin | Bluegrass | 6.61 | 2.90 | 649 | 87 |
| 14 | Hart | Green River | 6.38 | 2.90 | 2,633 | 5 |
| 15 | Franklin | Bluegrass | 6.27 | 2.92 | 1,303 | 46 |
| 16 | Nelson | Bluegrass | 6.07 | 2.62 | 2,539 | 8 |
| 17 | Henry | Bluegrass | 6.01 | 2.73 | 1,720 | 28 |
| 18 | Bullitt | Bluegrass | 5.99 | 2.78 | 1,779 | 23 |
| 19 | Webster | Green River | 5.87 | 2.37 | 1,950 | 19 |
| 20 | Kenton | Bluegrass | 5.86 | 2.45 | 940 | 65 |
IVThe low end
Last-place Fayette records 0.84; nine other counties fall below 1.5
Among the lowest ten counties, rates extend from Martin's 1.49 to Fayette's 0.84. Every one is below half the statewide median: dividing 3.29 in half gives 1.645. The Southeast, a region containing 29 counties, accounts for five: Owsley, Leslie, Breathitt, McCreary and Harlan. The Northeast contributes three, Martin, Magoffin and Menifee. The remaining two, Bourbon and Fayette, belong to the Bluegrass. Compared with Fayette, Spencer has a rate about 11.5 times as high.
Swipe table to see every column
| Rank | County | Region | Deer per sq mi | Avg deer per season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 111 | Martin | Northeast | 1.49 | 342 |
| 112 | Magoffin | Northeast | 1.39 | 428 |
| 113 | Owsley | Southeast | 1.34 | 264 |
| 114 | Leslie | Southeast | 1.18 | 472 |
| 115 | Breathitt | Southeast | 1.07 | 526 |
| 116 | McCreary | Southeast | 1.05 | 449 |
| 117 | Bourbon | Bluegrass | 1.03 | 299 |
| 118 | Menifee | Northeast | 1.00 | 203 |
| 119 | Harlan | Southeast | 0.99 | 462 |
| 120 | Fayette | Bluegrass | 0.84 | 237 |
In these ten counties, the table reports few deer checked by hunters for each square mile. It does not tell us whether deer numbers are low, few hunters are present, most land is unavailable to hunters or limits on taking antlerless deer are strict.
VKDFWR's version
The agency calculates its figures per square mile of habitat, and its rates are above ours
County rankings in the KDFWR 2024-25 deer report use a different denominator. The agency divides antlered deer harvested by habitat area measured in square miles. Spencer leads with 4.7, followed by Anderson with 4.6 and Washington with 4.0, all antlered deer per habitat square mile. Our denominator includes the entire land area. Across five seasons, our antlered rates are Spencer at 4.32, Anderson at 4.48 and Washington at 3.82. Each falls a little short of the corresponding KDFWR rate.
Both the area measurement and the time span differ between these calculations: the agency covers one season, while ours covers five. We therefore cannot assign the gap solely to either difference, and we do not convert between them. At the ranking's extremes, though, the results agree. The counties named by KDFWR occupy first, third and fifth place in our rate for all deer. Fayette finishes last in both the agency's antlered ranking and our all-deer ranking.
VIHow we counted
The app shows slightly higher totals than KDFWR's reports in print
Every checked deer contributes to the app's count. For each of the 120 counties, we average those counts across five seasons, then divide by land area. The boundary files from the Census Bureau provide that area with lakes and rivers excluded. Harvest-based rates combine deer abundance, the number of hunters, land they can reach and antlerless regulations. That combination makes such a rate a poor substitute for estimating the deer population.
The app continues receiving late check-ins, leaving its seasonal totals slightly above the agency's printed summaries. When we read it in September 2026, the 2025-26 count was 145,483 deer. That exceeded the January 2026 KDFWR summary's 145,433 by 50. Averaging five seasons conceals changes between individual years and provides no grounds for identifying a trend. We also did not test any other factor, including the number of hunters or the acreage open to the public.
VIIPicking a county
Check both rate and total when choosing counties to consider
We think hunters get the most use from this ranking by treating it as a filter. Look at both the county's rate and its total harvest, then investigate how much land you could hunt. Begin with the six counties that reach the highest 20 for rate and highest 10 for total. Their strong rates accompany large harvest totals. They represent three regions: the Bluegrass includes Shelby, Pendleton, Nelson and Washington; Green River includes Hart; Purchase includes Crittenden.
Use extra caution when considering a small county. Seasonal averages for Robertson and Gallatin are below 800 deer, at 771 and 649, respectively. Campbell records 1,042 and Kenton records 940, both about 1,000. Before relying on these counties, investigate hunting permission and public ground. A high rate can reflect abundant deer or numerous hunters sharing the land; these data cannot distinguish between them. To compare the separation between totals and rates across five other states, read our comparison of the counties that lead each list. For help interpreting agency figures without being misled, consult our field guide.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Source: County deer counts retrieved September 29, 2026 from the harvest app operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
- Source: PDF of the 2024-2025 deer report from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
- Source: Land-area measurements from U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line boundaries for counties.
- Along with deer abundance, a square-mile harvest rate captures hunting effort, access and antlerless regulations. It does not estimate population.
- We use land area supplied by the Census, excluding rivers and lakes. The agency uses deer habitat for its square-mile calculations, making the KDFWR rates incomparable with ours.
- Late check-ins continue entering the harvest app, leaving seasonal totals a little higher than the agency's printed reports. For 2025-26, the app recorded 145,483 as of September 29, 2026; the January 2026 KDFWR summary recorded 145,433.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. Fully Drawn Research is an independent data and analysis desk. This paper reports FDR's analysis of public agency data. Harvest figures describe animals reported or estimated as harvested, not population size, and reflect hunter effort and regulations as well as animal numbers.
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