[5] However, today Burlington is unincorporated due to the annulment of the city charter in 1923.

Court was initially held in a log courthouse built in 1801, the same year the town was platted.

In the initial layout of the town, the streets circled the central "Publick Square.

"[7] It was this original town plan and square, designed by county surveyor Moses Scott, that would later contribute to the listing of Burlington as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

Kentucky Route 18 (Burlington Pike) runs through the center of the CDP, leading east 6 miles (10 km) to Florence and west 7 miles (11 km) to the Ohio River at Belleview.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Burlington has a total area of 8.8 square miles (22.9 km2), all land.

[10] The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

[11] Record temperatures for Burlington are unknown as well as averages, because it does not have a weather station; information comes from nearby counties.