Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in Kentucky

Cities in Kentucky by population

Louisville, KY had the highest population of 42 cities in 2022, at 628,624. Paris, KY had the lowest, at 10,105. The median was 18,787 and the figure for Kentucky was 4.52 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest628,624Louisville, KY
Lowest10,105Paris, KY
Median18,78742 cities
Kentucky4,521,238History

All cities, 2022

Louisville, KY: 628,624 personsLouisville, KY628,624Lexington, KY: 321,332 personsLexington, KY321,332Bowling Green, KY: 75,197 personsBowling Green, KY75,197Owensboro, KY: 60,122 personsOwensboro, KY60,122Covington, KY: 41,031 personsCovington, KY41,031Georgetown, KY: 39,127 personsGeorgetown, KY39,127Richmond, KY: 36,707 personsRichmond, KY36,707Florence, KY: 32,700 personsFlorence, KY32,700Nicholasville, KY: 32,028 personsNicholasville, KY32,028Elizabethtown, KY: 31,911 personsElizabethtown, KY31,911Hopkinsville, KY: 30,844 personsHopkinsville, KY30,844Independence, KY: 29,311 personsIndependence, KY29,311Jeffersontown, KY: 29,125 personsJeffersontown, KY29,125Frankfort, KY: 28,599 personsFrankfort, KY28,599Henderson, KY: 27,690 personsHenderson, KY27,690Paducah, KY: 26,779 personsPaducah, KY26,779Radcliff, KY: 22,892 personsRadcliff, KY22,892Ashland, KY: 21,313 personsAshland, KY21,313Erlanger, KY: 19,795 personsErlanger, KY19,795Madisonville, KY: 19,496 personsMadisonville, KY19,496Winchester, KY: 19,116 personsWinchester, KY19,116Mount Washington, KY: 18,458 personsMount Washington, KY18,458Murray, KY: 17,952 personsMurray, KY17,952Shelbyville, KY: 17,594 personsShelbyville, KY17,594St. Matthews, KY: 17,518 personsSt. Matthews, KY17,518Danville, KY: 17,264 personsDanville, KY17,264Fort Thomas, KY: 17,141 personsFort Thomas, KY17,141Shively, KY: 15,523 personsShively, KY15,523Berea, KY: 15,477 personsBerea, KY15,477Glasgow, KY: 15,243 personsGlasgow, KY15,243Shepherdsville, KY: 14,493 personsShepherdsville, KY14,493Newport, KY: 13,936 personsNewport, KY13,936Bardstown, KY: 13,721 personsBardstown, KY13,721Somerset, KY: 12,242 personsSomerset, KY12,242Lawrenceburg, KY: 11,952 personsLawrenceburg, KY11,952Campbellsville, KY: 11,641 personsCampbellsville, KY11,641Lyndon, KY: 11,025 personsLyndon, KY11,025Alexandria, KY: 10,565 personsAlexandria, KY10,565Versailles, KY: 10,458 personsVersailles, KY10,458Franklin, KY: 10,342 personsFranklin, KY10,342La Grange, KY: 10,337 personsLa Grange, KY10,337Paris, KY: 10,105 personsParis, KY10,105Louisville, KY: 628,624 personsLouisville, KY628,624Lexington, KY: 321,332 personsLexington, KY321,332Bowling Green, KY: 75,197 personsBowling Green, KY75,197Owensboro, KY: 60,122 personsOwensboro, KY60,122Covington, KY: 41,031 personsCovington, KY41,031Georgetown, KY: 39,127 personsGeorgetown, KY39,127Richmond, KY: 36,707 personsRichmond, KY36,707Florence, KY: 32,700 personsFlorence, KY32,700Nicholasville, KY: 32,028 personsNicholasville, KY32,028Elizabethtown, KY: 31,911 personsElizabethtown, KY31,911Hopkinsville, KY: 30,844 personsHopkinsville, KY30,844Independence, KY: 29,311 personsIndependence, KY29,311Jeffersontown, KY: 29,125 personsJeffersontown, KY29,125Frankfort, KY: 28,599 personsFrankfort, KY28,599Henderson, KY: 27,690 personsHenderson, KY27,690Paducah, KY: 26,779 personsPaducah, KY26,779Radcliff, KY: 22,892 personsRadcliff, KY22,892Ashland, KY: 21,313 personsAshland, KY21,313Erlanger, KY: 19,795 personsErlanger, KY19,795Madisonville, KY: 19,496 personsMadisonville, KY19,496Winchester, KY: 19,116 personsWinchester, KY19,116Mount Washington, KY: 18,458 personsMount Washington, KY18,458Murray, KY: 17,952 personsMurray, KY17,952Shelbyville, KY: 17,594 personsShelbyville, KY17,594St. Matthews, KY: 17,518 personsSt. Matthews, KY17,518Danville, KY: 17,264 personsDanville, KY17,264Fort Thomas, KY: 17,141 personsFort Thomas, KY17,141Shively, KY: 15,523 personsShively, KY15,523Berea, KY: 15,477 personsBerea, KY15,477Glasgow, KY: 15,243 personsGlasgow, KY15,243Shepherdsville, KY: 14,493 personsShepherdsville, KY14,493Newport, KY: 13,936 personsNewport, KY13,936Bardstown, KY: 13,721 personsBardstown, KY13,721Somerset, KY: 12,242 personsSomerset, KY12,242Lawrenceburg, KY: 11,952 personsLawrenceburg, KY11,952Campbellsville, KY: 11,641 personsCampbellsville, KY11,641Lyndon, KY: 11,025 personsLyndon, KY11,025Alexandria, KY: 10,565 personsAlexandria, KY10,565Versailles, KY: 10,458 personsVersailles, KY10,458Franklin, KY: 10,342 personsFranklin, KY10,342La Grange, KY: 10,337 personsLa Grange, KY10,337Paris, KY: 10,105 personsParis, KY10,105
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

RankCities2022
persons		Change on 2021
1Louisville, KY628,624+0.2%
2Lexington, KY321,332+0.3%
3Bowling Green, KY75,197+2.8%
4Owensboro, KY60,122+0.1%
5Covington, KY41,031+0.6%
6Georgetown, KY39,127+1.8%
7Richmond, KY36,707+3.4%
8Florence, KY32,700+1.2%
9Nicholasville, KY32,028+1.5%
10Elizabethtown, KY31,911-0.1%
11Hopkinsville, KY30,844-0.4%
12Independence, KY29,311+0.8%
13Jeffersontown, KY29,125+0.2%
14Frankfort, KY28,599-0.2%
15Henderson, KY27,690-0.9%
16Paducah, KY26,779-0.5%
17Radcliff, KY22,892-0.6%
18Ashland, KY21,313-0.4%
19Erlanger, KY19,795+0.2%
20Madisonville, KY19,496-0.1%
21Winchester, KY19,116+0.2%
22Mount Washington, KY18,458+1.1%
23Murray, KY17,952+0.8%
24Shelbyville, KY17,594+0.7%
25St. Matthews, KY17,518+0.3%
26Danville, KY17,264+1%
27Fort Thomas, KY17,141-1.2%
28Shively, KY15,523-0.1%
29Berea, KY15,477+1.2%
30Glasgow, KY15,243+0.9%
31Shepherdsville, KY14,493+1%
32Newport, KY13,936-1.1%
33Bardstown, KY13,721+0.4%
34Somerset, KY12,242+0.3%
35Lawrenceburg, KY11,952+1.2%
36Campbellsville, KY11,641+1.4%
37Lyndon, KY11,025+0.1%
38Alexandria, KY10,565+1.3%
39Versailles, KY10,458+0.1%
40Franklin, KY10,342+0.8%
41La Grange, KY10,337+0.8%
42Paris, KY10,105-0.6%

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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/kentucky-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_kentucky_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/kentucky-cities?period=2022.
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 628,624 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Paris, KY, with 10,105 in 2022.

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