Independence is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States.

It is the third largest city in Northern Kentucky after Covington and Florence, and is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area.

Local farmer John McCollum donated a site at the center of the new county to be its seat of governance, and the name "Independence" was chosen to honor the liberation of locals from Campbell County.

It is bordered to the northwest by Elsmere, to the north by Erlanger and Covington, and to the northeast by Ryland Heights.

The original center of Independence is in the southeast part of the city, along Madison Pike.

Kentucky Route 17, a four-lane divided highway, passes just east of the city center, leading north 11 miles (18 km) to downtown Covington and south 27 miles (43 km) to Falmouth.

Major employers in Independence include Balluff,[12] Cengage Learning, Krauss Maffei, Mazak,[13] and Rotek.