This page is a free snapshot. Track the same market as it changes, every night: new licenses, contractors adding a trade, and companies going dark.Start tracking
HVAC Technician shortage in Kentucky: the licensed-supply numbers
What the Kentucky register actually shows, by tier and per capita, updated nightly.
As of 2026-08-09, Kentucky carries 10,993 licensed HVAC technicians
on its state register, or 242.9 per 100,000 residents.
10,993
licensed HVAC technicians
242.9
per 100k residents
#8
density rank of 32
0.67
apprentice : journeyman
The apprentice-to-journeyman pipeline behind them runs at 0.67 in Kentucky, against 0.492 nationally, a read on whether the HVAC technicians supply is being replenished.
By credential tier
Every HVAC technician license on the Kentucky register, normalized to one ladder.
Tier
Licensed
Share
Apprentice
3,326
30%
Journeyman
4,995
45%
Master
2,672
24%
Against comparable states
States nearest Kentucky on licensed HVAC technicians per capita.
State
Licensed HVAC technicians
Per 100k
Kentucky
10,993
242.9
Connecticut
12,482
345.1
Oklahoma
13,171
324.9
Arkansas
7,776
253.5
Rhode Island
2,212
201.8
Texas
59,775
196.0
Delaware
1,230
119.2
Counts, not a capacity opinion. We publish the licensed supply and the pipeline
ratio; whether a market can absorb a given project is a judgement for the reader, not a claim we make.
Frequently asked
Is there a HVAC shortage in Kentucky?
Reporting on the shortage rarely states how many are actually licensed. Kentucky carries 10,993 licensed HVAC technicians on its register as of 2026-08-09, or 242.9 per 100,000 residents. Readers can weigh that supply against demand directly.
How many licensed HVAC technicians does Kentucky have?
10,993 on the state register as of 2026-08-09, including 2,672 at master level.
Where does the shortage narrative come from?
Industry analyses project national shortfalls of hundreds of thousands of skilled-trades workers against data-center and electrification demand. Those are demand-side estimates; the figure here is the licensed supply on the register today.
New licenses, ladder upgrades, classification changes and lapses, by market and credential tier. Read the quarterly free, or license the underlying data.