Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in Kentucky

Cities in Kentucky by population

Louisville, KY had the highest population of 42 cities in 2023, at 633,289. Paris, KY had the lowest, at 10,137. The median was 18,984 and the figure for Kentucky was 4.55 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest633,289Louisville, KY
Lowest10,137Paris, KY
Median18,98442 cities
Kentucky4,549,953History

All cities, 2023

Louisville, KY: 633,289 personsLouisville, KY633,289Lexington, KY: 323,414 personsLexington, KY323,414Bowling Green, KY: 76,729 personsBowling Green, KY76,729Owensboro, KY: 60,313 personsOwensboro, KY60,313Covington, KY: 41,264 personsCovington, KY41,264Georgetown, KY: 39,904 personsGeorgetown, KY39,904Richmond, KY: 38,504 personsRichmond, KY38,504Florence, KY: 33,144 personsFlorence, KY33,144Elizabethtown, KY: 33,039 personsElizabethtown, KY33,039Nicholasville, KY: 32,658 personsNicholasville, KY32,658Hopkinsville, KY: 30,867 personsHopkinsville, KY30,867Independence, KY: 29,602 personsIndependence, KY29,602Jeffersontown, KY: 29,187 personsJeffersontown, KY29,187Frankfort, KY: 28,449 personsFrankfort, KY28,449Henderson, KY: 27,792 personsHenderson, KY27,792Paducah, KY: 26,816 personsPaducah, KY26,816Radcliff, KY: 22,706 personsRadcliff, KY22,706Ashland, KY: 21,180 personsAshland, KY21,180Erlanger, KY: 19,911 personsErlanger, KY19,911Madisonville, KY: 19,480 personsMadisonville, KY19,480Winchester, KY: 19,274 personsWinchester, KY19,274Mount Washington, KY: 18,693 personsMount Washington, KY18,693Murray, KY: 18,228 personsMurray, KY18,228Shelbyville, KY: 17,878 personsShelbyville, KY17,878St. Matthews, KY: 17,615 personsSt. Matthews, KY17,615Danville, KY: 17,415 personsDanville, KY17,415Fort Thomas, KY: 17,016 personsFort Thomas, KY17,016Berea, KY: 16,005 personsBerea, KY16,005Shively, KY: 15,624 personsShively, KY15,624Glasgow, KY: 15,291 personsGlasgow, KY15,291Shepherdsville, KY: 14,675 personsShepherdsville, KY14,675Newport, KY: 13,877 personsNewport, KY13,877Bardstown, KY: 13,862 personsBardstown, KY13,862Somerset, KY: 12,337 personsSomerset, KY12,337Lawrenceburg, KY: 12,112 personsLawrenceburg, KY12,112Campbellsville, KY: 11,735 personsCampbellsville, KY11,735Lyndon, KY: 11,120 personsLyndon, KY11,120Alexandria, KY: 10,678 personsAlexandria, KY10,678Versailles, KY: 10,596 personsVersailles, KY10,596Franklin, KY: 10,499 personsFranklin, KY10,499La Grange, KY: 10,463 personsLa Grange, KY10,463Paris, KY: 10,137 personsParis, KY10,137Louisville, KY: 633,289 personsLouisville, KY633,289Lexington, KY: 323,414 personsLexington, KY323,414Bowling Green, KY: 76,729 personsBowling Green, KY76,729Owensboro, KY: 60,313 personsOwensboro, KY60,313Covington, KY: 41,264 personsCovington, KY41,264Georgetown, KY: 39,904 personsGeorgetown, KY39,904Richmond, KY: 38,504 personsRichmond, KY38,504Florence, KY: 33,144 personsFlorence, KY33,144Elizabethtown, KY: 33,039 personsElizabethtown, KY33,039Nicholasville, KY: 32,658 personsNicholasville, KY32,658Hopkinsville, KY: 30,867 personsHopkinsville, KY30,867Independence, KY: 29,602 personsIndependence, KY29,602Jeffersontown, KY: 29,187 personsJeffersontown, KY29,187Frankfort, KY: 28,449 personsFrankfort, KY28,449Henderson, KY: 27,792 personsHenderson, KY27,792Paducah, KY: 26,816 personsPaducah, KY26,816Radcliff, KY: 22,706 personsRadcliff, KY22,706Ashland, KY: 21,180 personsAshland, KY21,180Erlanger, KY: 19,911 personsErlanger, KY19,911Madisonville, KY: 19,480 personsMadisonville, KY19,480Winchester, KY: 19,274 personsWinchester, KY19,274Mount Washington, KY: 18,693 personsMount Washington, KY18,693Murray, KY: 18,228 personsMurray, KY18,228Shelbyville, KY: 17,878 personsShelbyville, KY17,878St. Matthews, KY: 17,615 personsSt. Matthews, KY17,615Danville, KY: 17,415 personsDanville, KY17,415Fort Thomas, KY: 17,016 personsFort Thomas, KY17,016Berea, KY: 16,005 personsBerea, KY16,005Shively, KY: 15,624 personsShively, KY15,624Glasgow, KY: 15,291 personsGlasgow, KY15,291Shepherdsville, KY: 14,675 personsShepherdsville, KY14,675Newport, KY: 13,877 personsNewport, KY13,877Bardstown, KY: 13,862 personsBardstown, KY13,862Somerset, KY: 12,337 personsSomerset, KY12,337Lawrenceburg, KY: 12,112 personsLawrenceburg, KY12,112Campbellsville, KY: 11,735 personsCampbellsville, KY11,735Lyndon, KY: 11,120 personsLyndon, KY11,120Alexandria, KY: 10,678 personsAlexandria, KY10,678Versailles, KY: 10,596 personsVersailles, KY10,596Franklin, KY: 10,499 personsFranklin, KY10,499La Grange, KY: 10,463 personsLa Grange, KY10,463Paris, KY: 10,137 personsParis, KY10,137
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

RankCities2023
persons		Change on 2022
1Louisville, KY633,289+0.7%
2Lexington, KY323,414+0.6%
3Bowling Green, KY76,729+2%
4Owensboro, KY60,313+0.3%
5Covington, KY41,264+0.6%
6Georgetown, KY39,904+2%
7Richmond, KY38,504+4.9%
8Florence, KY33,144+1.4%
9Elizabethtown, KY33,039+3.5%
10Nicholasville, KY32,658+2%
11Hopkinsville, KY30,867+0.1%
12Independence, KY29,602+1%
13Jeffersontown, KY29,187+0.2%
14Frankfort, KY28,449-0.5%
15Henderson, KY27,792+0.4%
16Paducah, KY26,816+0.1%
17Radcliff, KY22,706-0.8%
18Ashland, KY21,180-0.6%
19Erlanger, KY19,911+0.6%
20Madisonville, KY19,480-0.1%
21Winchester, KY19,274+0.8%
22Mount Washington, KY18,693+1.3%
23Murray, KY18,228+1.5%
24Shelbyville, KY17,878+1.6%
25St. Matthews, KY17,615+0.6%
26Danville, KY17,415+0.9%
27Fort Thomas, KY17,016-0.7%
28Berea, KY16,005+3.4%
29Shively, KY15,624+0.7%
30Glasgow, KY15,291+0.3%
31Shepherdsville, KY14,675+1.3%
32Newport, KY13,877-0.4%
33Bardstown, KY13,862+1%
34Somerset, KY12,337+0.8%
35Lawrenceburg, KY12,112+1.3%
36Campbellsville, KY11,735+0.8%
37Lyndon, KY11,120+0.9%
38Alexandria, KY10,678+1.1%
39Versailles, KY10,596+1.3%
40Franklin, KY10,499+1.5%
41La Grange, KY10,463+1.2%
42Paris, KY10,137+0.3%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/kentucky-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_kentucky_by_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/kentucky-cities?period=2023.
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 633,289 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Paris, KY, with 10,137 in 2023.

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