Closest International Airports:

•  7 miles: Louisville, KY (SDF / KSDF) Louisville International Airport
• 96 miles: Hebron, KY (CVG / KCVG) Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
• 124 miles: Indianapolis, IN (IND / KIND) Indianapolis International Airport
• 164 miles: Dayton, OH (DAY / KDAY) James M. Cox Dayton International Airport

Closest Major City:

• 72 miles to Lexington-Fayette, KY
• 95 miles to Cincinnati, OH
• 107 miles to Indianapolis, IN
• 155 miles to Nashville, TN

Closest Domestic Airport:

• 72 miles to Lexington-Fayette, KY
• 95 miles to Cincinnati, OH
• 107 miles to Indianapolis, IN
• 155 miles to Nashville, TN

Cost of Living:

• State Cost of Living Index - 94.6
• City Cost of Living Index - 94.3
• Mean Housing Cost - $211,959

Colleges and Universities:

• Louisville has three major institutions of higher learning: the University of Louisville, Bellarmine College, and Spalding University. 
• The University of Louisville offers Ph.D.'s in 23 areas, including engineering (its Speed School of Engineering is nationally known), medicine, dentistry, law, and education.
• Bellarmine College offers master of arts degrees in social and business administration, education, and nursing, in addition to 44 undergraduate degrees.
• Spalding University offers extensive programs for the part-time student. In the Greater Louisville region are located 20 institutions of higher learning.

Demographics:

• White 62.9%
• Black 33.0%
• American Indiana and Alaska Native 0.2%
• Asian 1.4%
• Two or more races 1.7%
• Hispanic 1.9%

Taxes:

• State Income Tax Rate - 5%
• State Sales Tax Rate - 6%
• City Sales Tax Rate - 6%
• County Tax Rate - 0%
• Property Tax Rate - 0.9%

Major Industry:

• Construction (10%)
• Accommodation and food services (8%)
• Professional, scientific, and technical services (6%)
• Educational services (5%)
• Health care (5%)
• Administrative and support and waste management services (5%)
• Other transportation, and support activities, and couriers (4%)

Recreation:

• Louisville offers a variety of recreational activities, from a leisurely steamboat excursion on the Ohio River to a fun-filled day at a theme park.
• The city's most famous attraction is Churchill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby, held annually on the first Saturday in May. With a grandstand featuring trademark twin Edwardian spires, the track was established in 1874, and the first Derby was run the following year. 
• Another of the area's most popular attractions is Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, a family adventure theme park featuring Chang, the tallest, longest, fastest stand-up roller coaster in the world.
• Nature lovers can visit the Louisville Zoo, which displays more than 1,300 animals in a 73-acre park-like setting. Twelve western lowland gorillas are on display at the zoo's popular Gorilla Forest habitat.
• The Louisville Nature Center is an urban oasis where visitors can enjoy more than 150 species of birds, wild animals and flower-decked trails.

Arts & Culture:

• Lexington was an acknowledged center for art and culture as early as the mid-1800s, earning the nickname ""Athens of the West."" The commitment to culture continues today. 
• The Lexington Arts and Cultural Council (LACC) was formed in 1989 through a merger of two former arts organizations. The LACC operates two facilities in downtown Lexington, ArtsPlace and the Downtown Arts Center, providing high quality performance space, galleries, rehearsal space and office space for nonprofit arts organizations. At these locations, the LACC organizes visual art exhibitions and performances showcasing the region's creative talent.
• The Council is located downtown in a renovated 1904 Beaux-Arts Classical building called ArtsPlace that originally housed the Lexington YMCA. ArtsPlace is a working center for individual and group activities in the visual and performing arts and features the juried work of Kentucky artists in its gallery, as well as free performances that range from classical music to jazz and from ballet to modern dance. The four-story building contains studios, a rehearsal and performance hall, and offices for numerous cultural groups; it is adjacent to the Lexington Opera House, where many of its organizations stage their presentations. The seasons of Lexington's performing arts groups generally run September through May; in summer, Shakespeare in the Park presents free outdoor performances.
• The Headley-Whitney Museum contains the unique artifacts and reflects the interests of Lexington artist George Headley. 

Sports for the Spectator:

• Louisville's best-known sporting event is the Kentucky Derby. For racing fans, Louisville offers two horse-racing tracks, Churchill Downs (for thoroughbred racing) and Louisville Downs (for harness racing). Churchill Downs' spring racing dates are April through June; fall racing takes place in October and November. Louisville Downs features nighttime races in early spring, summer, and fall. Auto races are held at the Louisville Motor Speedway.
• Louisville's $26 million, 13,000-seat Louisville Slugger Field is home to the RiverBats (formerly the Redbirds), a Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Slugger Field was named the 2004 Professional Baseball Field of the Year by the Sports Turf Managers Association for the second time in three years. 
• The Louisville Fire is the city's Arena Football League team. 
• The University of Louisville fields highly regarded football and basketball teams; the Cardinals play football at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

Sports for the Participant:

• The Louisville park system maintains 11 urban parks, including four designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. These public parks contain more than 200 tennis courts, four 18-hole golf courses, five nine-hole golf courses, and 15 swimming pools. 
• Twenty lakes in nine parks in the metropolitan area are stocked for fishing. Five parks located along the Ohio River provide access to river fishing. Water sports are also a favorite pastime on the river during the summer. 
• The new Louisville Extreme Park offers skateboarding, in-line skating and biking on 40,000 square feet of concrete surface. Bicycling is a popular sport in Kentucky, and each fall the Louisville Wheelmen sponsor My Old Kentucky Home Bicycle Tour, a two-day event that draws more than 400 cyclists.
• Ice skating is another favorite sport; enthusiasts skate at the Alpine Ice Arena and the outdoor rink on the Belvidere downtown.

Shopping:

• Lexington has more than a dozen major shopping centers, including modern indoor malls that feature both large department stores and smaller specialty shops.
• Turfland Mall has department stores and retail shops, and Fayette Mall is the second-largest mall in Kentucky with more than 120 stores.
• The Shops at Lexington Center is convenient to downtown and the convention center. The city also offers plenty of boutique and specialty shopping areas.
• Clay Avenue Shops are a collection of stores in a former turn-of-the-century residential neighborhood. Victorian Square and Dudley Square are historic, renovated areas in the downtown with restaurants, fashions and Kentucky/Appalachian handicrafts. Chevy Chase Village is a thriving and eclectic mix of shops near the University.

Top Five things to do:

1. Keeneland
2. Kentucky Horse Park
3. Mary Todd Lincoln House
4. Alltech's Lexington Brewing & Distillery
5. The Arboretum