Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in Kentucky

Cities in Kentucky by population

Louisville, KY had the highest population of 42 cities in 2020, at 631,872. La Grange, KY had the lowest, at 10,088. The median was 18,641 and the figure for Kentucky was 4.51 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest631,872Louisville, KY
Lowest10,088La Grange, KY
Median18,64142 cities
Kentucky4,508,271History

All cities, 2020

Louisville, KY: 631,872 personsLouisville, KY631,872Lexington, KY: 322,620 personsLexington, KY322,620Bowling Green, KY: 72,473 personsBowling Green, KY72,473Owensboro, KY: 60,272 personsOwensboro, KY60,272Covington, KY: 40,948 personsCovington, KY40,948Georgetown, KY: 37,802 personsGeorgetown, KY37,802Richmond, KY: 35,317 personsRichmond, KY35,317Florence, KY: 32,088 personsFlorence, KY32,088Elizabethtown, KY: 31,408 personsElizabethtown, KY31,408Hopkinsville, KY: 31,171 personsHopkinsville, KY31,171Nicholasville, KY: 31,143 personsNicholasville, KY31,143Jeffersontown, KY: 29,225 personsJeffersontown, KY29,225Independence, KY: 28,780 personsIndependence, KY28,780Frankfort, KY: 28,618 personsFrankfort, KY28,618Henderson, KY: 28,133 personsHenderson, KY28,133Paducah, KY: 27,133 personsPaducah, KY27,133Radcliff, KY: 23,021 personsRadcliff, KY23,021Ashland, KY: 21,592 personsAshland, KY21,592Erlanger, KY: 19,683 personsErlanger, KY19,683Madisonville, KY: 19,642 personsMadisonville, KY19,642Winchester, KY: 19,168 personsWinchester, KY19,168Mount Washington, KY: 18,113 personsMount Washington, KY18,113Murray, KY: 17,769 personsMurray, KY17,769St. Matthews, KY: 17,557 personsSt. Matthews, KY17,557Fort Thomas, KY: 17,419 personsFort Thomas, KY17,419Shelbyville, KY: 17,355 personsShelbyville, KY17,355Danville, KY: 17,321 personsDanville, KY17,321Shively, KY: 15,638 personsShively, KY15,638Berea, KY: 15,592 personsBerea, KY15,592Glasgow, KY: 15,027 personsGlasgow, KY15,027Shepherdsville, KY: 14,219 personsShepherdsville, KY14,219Newport, KY: 14,148 personsNewport, KY14,148Bardstown, KY: 13,575 personsBardstown, KY13,575Somerset, KY: 12,014 personsSomerset, KY12,014Lawrenceburg, KY: 11,737 personsLawrenceburg, KY11,737Campbellsville, KY: 11,451 personsCampbellsville, KY11,451Lyndon, KY: 11,059 personsLyndon, KY11,059Alexandria, KY: 10,370 personsAlexandria, KY10,370Versailles, KY: 10,361 personsVersailles, KY10,361Franklin, KY: 10,213 personsFranklin, KY10,213Paris, KY: 10,197 personsParis, KY10,197La Grange, KY: 10,088 personsLa Grange, KY10,088Louisville, KY: 631,872 personsLouisville, KY631,872Lexington, KY: 322,620 personsLexington, KY322,620Bowling Green, KY: 72,473 personsBowling Green, KY72,473Owensboro, KY: 60,272 personsOwensboro, KY60,272Covington, KY: 40,948 personsCovington, KY40,948Georgetown, KY: 37,802 personsGeorgetown, KY37,802Richmond, KY: 35,317 personsRichmond, KY35,317Florence, KY: 32,088 personsFlorence, KY32,088Elizabethtown, KY: 31,408 personsElizabethtown, KY31,408Hopkinsville, KY: 31,171 personsHopkinsville, KY31,171Nicholasville, KY: 31,143 personsNicholasville, KY31,143Jeffersontown, KY: 29,225 personsJeffersontown, KY29,225Independence, KY: 28,780 personsIndependence, KY28,780Frankfort, KY: 28,618 personsFrankfort, KY28,618Henderson, KY: 28,133 personsHenderson, KY28,133Paducah, KY: 27,133 personsPaducah, KY27,133Radcliff, KY: 23,021 personsRadcliff, KY23,021Ashland, KY: 21,592 personsAshland, KY21,592Erlanger, KY: 19,683 personsErlanger, KY19,683Madisonville, KY: 19,642 personsMadisonville, KY19,642Winchester, KY: 19,168 personsWinchester, KY19,168Mount Washington, KY: 18,113 personsMount Washington, KY18,113Murray, KY: 17,769 personsMurray, KY17,769St. Matthews, KY: 17,557 personsSt. Matthews, KY17,557Fort Thomas, KY: 17,419 personsFort Thomas, KY17,419Shelbyville, KY: 17,355 personsShelbyville, KY17,355Danville, KY: 17,321 personsDanville, KY17,321Shively, KY: 15,638 personsShively, KY15,638Berea, KY: 15,592 personsBerea, KY15,592Glasgow, KY: 15,027 personsGlasgow, KY15,027Shepherdsville, KY: 14,219 personsShepherdsville, KY14,219Newport, KY: 14,148 personsNewport, KY14,148Bardstown, KY: 13,575 personsBardstown, KY13,575Somerset, KY: 12,014 personsSomerset, KY12,014Lawrenceburg, KY: 11,737 personsLawrenceburg, KY11,737Campbellsville, KY: 11,451 personsCampbellsville, KY11,451Lyndon, KY: 11,059 personsLyndon, KY11,059Alexandria, KY: 10,370 personsAlexandria, KY10,370Versailles, KY: 10,361 personsVersailles, KY10,361Franklin, KY: 10,213 personsFranklin, KY10,213Paris, KY: 10,197 personsParis, KY10,197La Grange, KY: 10,088 personsLa Grange, KY10,088
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

RankCities2020
persons
1Louisville, KY631,872
2Lexington, KY322,620
3Bowling Green, KY72,473
4Owensboro, KY60,272
5Covington, KY40,948
6Georgetown, KY37,802
7Richmond, KY35,317
8Florence, KY32,088
9Elizabethtown, KY31,408
10Hopkinsville, KY31,171
11Nicholasville, KY31,143
12Jeffersontown, KY29,225
13Independence, KY28,780
14Frankfort, KY28,618
15Henderson, KY28,133
16Paducah, KY27,133
17Radcliff, KY23,021
18Ashland, KY21,592
19Erlanger, KY19,683
20Madisonville, KY19,642
21Winchester, KY19,168
22Mount Washington, KY18,113
23Murray, KY17,769
24St. Matthews, KY17,557
25Fort Thomas, KY17,419
26Shelbyville, KY17,355
27Danville, KY17,321
28Shively, KY15,638
29Berea, KY15,592
30Glasgow, KY15,027
31Shepherdsville, KY14,219
32Newport, KY14,148
33Bardstown, KY13,575
34Somerset, KY12,014
35Lawrenceburg, KY11,737
36Campbellsville, KY11,451
37Lyndon, KY11,059
38Alexandria, KY10,370
39Versailles, KY10,361
40Franklin, KY10,213
41Paris, KY10,197
42La Grange, KY10,088

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón).
  • Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January.
  • Iceland and its municipalities: Statistics Iceland, 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.
  • UN World Population Prospects estimates for 1 July cover the years before 1960 and the areas the World Bank does not publish, such as Taiwan.

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.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals) (Cities in Kentucky by population, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/

MLA 9

Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Kentucky by population, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/kentucky-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Cities in Kentucky by population, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/kentucky-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Kentucky by population, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/kentucky-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_kentucky_by_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Kentucky by population, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/kentucky-cities?period=2020. Publisher attribution: 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.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Kentucky by population, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/kentucky-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/kentucky-cities?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: 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.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Louisville, KY, with 631,872 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

La Grange, KY, with 10,088 in 2020.

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

Cities in Kentucky: more rankings