Gov. Beshear was elected in 2019 and sworn in on Dec. 10, 2019. Andy Beshear is now serving a 2nd consecutive term; the current term began Dec. 2023. The scored record above covers Kentucky's outcomes during this continuous service, lagged per category (each category's lag was fixed before scoring).
Governors › Kentucky
Kentucky Under Andy Beshear
Democratic · Sworn in Dec. 10, 2019 · Now in 2nd term
Kentucky has tracked the other 49 states almost exactly under Gov. Beshear — No. 21 of 29 governors with rated records, across 16 categories.
Andy Beshear
Kentucky · Democratic · since Dec. 2019 · 2nd term
Overall · citizen-weighted
No. 21 of 29
−0.28σ · 16 of 20 categories
equal-weight: −0.24σ · weighting helps · −0.1σ transparency
| Category | Latest | Score vs. peers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honesty | — | In human review | |
| Spending discipline | — | Rubric in development | |
| Education scale score | 270.8 ’24 | +0.80σ* | |
| Air quality AQI | 41 ’24 | −0.37σ | |
| Water quality % of community systems | 8.6 ’25 | −0.93σ | |
| Unemployment % | 4.6 ’25 | −1.14σ | |
| Health coverage % of adults 18-64 | 9.6 ’24 | −2.50σ | |
| Tax burden % of personal income | 6.5 ’24 | +0.27σ | |
| Energy cost cents/kWh | 12.8 ’24 | +0.73σ | |
| Cost of living index, US=100 | 90.2 ’24 | −0.64σ | |
| Crime deaths per 100,000 | 7 ’24 | +0.45σ | |
| Teen births per 1,000 females 15-19 | 20.4 ’24 | −0.18σ | |
| Wellbeing mean days of past 30 | 5.6 ’24 | −0.00σ | |
| School food quality | — | Rubric in development | |
| School shootings | 0 ’24 | Context · 16/10yr | |
| Obesity % of adults | 37.2 ’24 | +0.45σ* | |
| Early literacy % of 4th graders | 37.7 ’24 | +0.77σ* | |
| Gun deaths deaths per 100,000 (age-adjusted) | 18.5 ’24 | +0.13σ | |
| Food-aid access index (higher = easier access) | 0.6 ’23 | −0.39σ | |
| Jobless-benefit access % of unemployed receiving UI | 8.9 ’24 | −2.50σ |
Data transparency — 80% of state-run reporting delivered this tenure−0.1σ off OVR
Scores are trends vs. the other 49 states over this governor’s window, in σ; *thin data (under 3 points). Tap ? on any row for what it measures, its chart, and the source. All provisional while the term runs. Methodology v2.1
Unemployment Rate, 2010–2025
Kentucky against all 49 other states Kentucky 50-state median Other 49 states Scored window
Annual-average unemployment rate — the longest-running series on the card, charted in full. The shaded band is its scored window: it opens one year after inauguration and tracks through the newest published data. The dashed line is the 50-state median, shown for context; scoring uses the median of the other 49 states. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
The Record
Show the Work
every published number, reproducible| Education (NAEP (Nation's Report Card)) | +0.80σ · window 2022–2024 (2 pts, thin) · state +0.3%/yr vs peers −0.1%/yr |
| Air quality (EPA AirData) | −0.37σ · window 2021–2024 (4 pts) · state +1.5%/yr vs peers +0.2%/yr |
| Water quality (EPA SDWIS/ECHO) | −0.93σ · window 2021–2025 (5 pts) · state +0.8%/yr vs peers +0.1%/yr |
| Unemployment (BLS LAUS) | −1.14σ · window 2021–2025 (5 pts) · state +2.8%/yr vs peers −2.7%/yr |
| Health coverage (CDC BRFSS) | −2.50σ · window 2021–2024 (3 pts) · state +23.7%/yr vs peers +1.4%/yr · pre-cap −2.89σ |
| Tax burden (Census STC ÷ BEA personal income) | +0.27σ · window 2020–2024 (5 pts) · state +1.4%/yr vs peers +2.2%/yr |
| Energy cost (EIA) | +0.73σ · window 2021–2024 (4 pts) · state +3.0%/yr vs peers +5.2%/yr |
| Cost of living (BEA) | −0.64σ · window 2021–2024 (4 pts) · state +0.4%/yr vs peers −0.1%/yr |
| Crime (CDC WONDER) | +0.45σ · window 2021–2024 (4 pts) · state −10.0%/yr vs peers −7.4%/yr |
| Teen births (CDC WONDER) | −0.18σ · window 2021–2024 (4 pts) · state −3.1%/yr vs peers −3.4%/yr |
| Wellbeing (CDC BRFSS) | −0.00σ · window 2021–2024 (3 pts) · state +2.0%/yr vs peers +2.0%/yr |
| Obesity (CDC BRFSS) | +0.45σ · window 2022–2024 (2 pts, thin) · state −0.7%/yr vs peers +0.2%/yr |
| Early literacy (NAEP (Nation's Report Card)) | +0.77σ · window 2022–2024 (2 pts, thin) · state −0.4%/yr vs peers +2.2%/yr |
| Gun deaths (CDC WONDER) | +0.13σ · window 2021–2024 (4 pts) · state −4.1%/yr vs peers −3.6%/yr |
| Food-aid access (USDA FNS) | −0.39σ · window 2021–2023 (3 pts) · state −1.4%/yr vs peers +0.9%/yr |
| Jobless-benefit access (US DOL ETA) | −2.50σ · window 2021–2024 (4 pts) · state −38.2%/yr vs peers −5.9%/yr · pre-cap −3.60σ |
| Overall (mean of domain scores) | −0.28σ · economy −0.35 · health −0.56 · environment −0.65 · public_safety +0.29 · education +0.78 · social_services −1.44 · fiscal +0.27 |
| Methodology | v2.1, preregistered — directions and lags fixed before scoring; full dataset at /pwr.json |
Every score is a fitted log-linear trend over that category’s window, minus the median trend of the other 49 states, standardized by the spread across states (σ) and capped at ±2.5. Positive always means “moved better than peers” under the category’s preregistered direction.
Cite this
Kentucky has tracked the other 49 states almost exactly under Gov. Beshear — No. 21 of 29 governors with rated records, across 16 categories. — Political Grades, methodology v2.1, data through 2025. Provisional; trend-vs-peers scoring; relative movement, not causation.