Cities in Kentucky by population, 2025

Louisville, KY had the highest population of 42 cities in 2025, at 641,962. Paris, KY had the lowest, at 10,130. The median was 19,209 and the figure for Kentucky was 4.61 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest641,962Louisville, KY
Lowest10,130Paris, KY
Median19,20942 cities
Kentucky4,606,864History

All cities, 2025

Louisville, KY: 641,962 personsLouisville, KY641,962Lexington, KY: 329,751 personsLexington, KY329,751Bowling Green, KY: 78,505 personsBowling Green, KY78,505Owensboro, KY: 60,892 personsOwensboro, KY60,892Covington, KY: 41,847 personsCovington, KY41,847Georgetown, KY: 40,883 personsGeorgetown, KY40,883Richmond, KY: 40,663 personsRichmond, KY40,663Elizabethtown, KY: 35,448 personsElizabethtown, KY35,448Florence, KY: 34,018 personsFlorence, KY34,018Nicholasville, KY: 33,857 personsNicholasville, KY33,857Hopkinsville, KY: 30,411 personsHopkinsville, KY30,411Independence, KY: 30,198 personsIndependence, KY30,198Jeffersontown, KY: 29,193 personsJeffersontown, KY29,193Frankfort, KY: 28,657 personsFrankfort, KY28,657Henderson, KY: 27,822 personsHenderson, KY27,822Paducah, KY: 26,730 personsPaducah, KY26,730Radcliff, KY: 22,576 personsRadcliff, KY22,576Ashland, KY: 20,996 personsAshland, KY20,996Erlanger, KY: 20,158 personsErlanger, KY20,158Winchester, KY: 19,514 personsWinchester, KY19,514Madisonville, KY: 19,428 personsMadisonville, KY19,428Mount Washington, KY: 18,989 personsMount Washington, KY18,989Murray, KY: 18,964 personsMurray, KY18,964Shelbyville, KY: 18,453 personsShelbyville, KY18,453St. Matthews, KY: 17,868 personsSt. Matthews, KY17,868Danville, KY: 17,736 personsDanville, KY17,736Fort Thomas, KY: 17,142 personsFort Thomas, KY17,142Berea, KY: 16,662 personsBerea, KY16,662Shively, KY: 15,895 personsShively, KY15,895Glasgow, KY: 15,302 personsGlasgow, KY15,302Shepherdsville, KY: 14,931 personsShepherdsville, KY14,931Bardstown, KY: 14,161 personsBardstown, KY14,161Newport, KY: 13,998 personsNewport, KY13,998Somerset, KY: 12,695 personsSomerset, KY12,695Lawrenceburg, KY: 12,329 personsLawrenceburg, KY12,329Campbellsville, KY: 11,783 personsCampbellsville, KY11,783Lyndon, KY: 11,301 personsLyndon, KY11,301Alexandria, KY: 10,994 personsAlexandria, KY10,994Franklin, KY: 10,759 personsFranklin, KY10,759Versailles, KY: 10,734 personsVersailles, KY10,734La Grange, KY: 10,669 personsLa Grange, KY10,669Paris, KY: 10,130 personsParis, KY10,130
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2025
persons
Change on 2024
1Louisville, KY641,962+0.1%
2Lexington, KY329,751+0.8%
3Bowling Green, KY78,505+0.2%
4Owensboro, KY60,892+0.5%
5Covington, KY41,847+0.5%
6Georgetown, KY40,883+0.8%
7Richmond, KY40,663+2.7%
8Elizabethtown, KY35,448+2.8%
9Florence, KY34,018+1.2%
10Nicholasville, KY33,857+1.6%
11Hopkinsville, KY30,411-1.5%
12Independence, KY30,198+0.5%
13Jeffersontown, KY29,193-0.4%
14Frankfort, KY28,6570%
15Henderson, KY27,822-0.1%
16Paducah, KY26,730-0.3%
17Radcliff, KY22,576-0.3%
18Ashland, KY20,996-0.7%
19Erlanger, KY20,158+0.3%
20Winchester, KY19,514+0.4%
21Madisonville, KY19,428-0.1%
22Mount Washington, KY18,989+0.7%
23Murray, KY18,964+2.3%
24Shelbyville, KY18,453+1.5%
25St. Matthews, KY17,868+0.3%
26Danville, KY17,736+1.3%
27Fort Thomas, KY17,142+1%
28Berea, KY16,662+1.5%
29Shively, KY15,895+0.3%
30Glasgow, KY15,302-0.2%
31Shepherdsville, KY14,931+0.8%
32Bardstown, KY14,161+0.8%
33Newport, KY13,998+1.1%
34Somerset, KY12,695+1.8%
35Lawrenceburg, KY12,329+0.8%
36Campbellsville, KY11,783-0.4%
37Lyndon, KY11,301+0.4%
38Alexandria, KY10,994+1.8%
39Franklin, KY10,759+1.8%
40Versailles, KY10,734+0.7%
41La Grange, KY10,669+0.9%
42Paris, KY10,130-0.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón). Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January. United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. United Kingdom regions and local authorities: Office for National Statistics estimates for 30 June. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Use this data in your AI agent

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Rank Cities in Kentucky by population using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population","level":"municipality","within":"Kentucky","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population&level=municipality&within=Kentucky&limit=10

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Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Louisville, KY, with 641,962 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Paris, KY, with 10,130 in 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Population: other rankings