Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers, it lies south of Cincinnati, Ohio, across the Ohio and west of Newport, Kentucky, across the Licking. It had a population of 40,691 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Northern Kentucky and the fifth-most populous city in the state. A part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area, it is one of Kenton County's two seats, along with Independence.