How can Kentucky still be trailing competitor states in population growth? Itâs not like we as a state are stuck in some out-of-the-way region with poor access to roads and attractive sites for development and growth. Most Kentuckians live and do business within a dayâs drive of 60% of the entire U.S. population. Both Interstates 75 and 65 are among the nationâs most heavily traveled north-south corridors. Yet the Census Bureau reports that Kentuckyâs population grew by a miserly 3.8% between 2010 and 2020. Such paltry growth trails each of the benchmark states analyzed in âThe Lost Decade: Kentuckyâs Economic Underperformance 1980-2020,â a report authored by Andrew McNeill, former Deputy State Budget Director and Visiting Policy Fellow with the Bluegrass Institute.