Largest Cities in Kentucky: Ranked by Population

The largest city in Kentucky in our data is Louisville, KY, with an estimated 1,005,654 people, followed by Lexington, KY (323,152) and Bowling Green, KY (95,135). This list ranks the top 50 places among the 95 Kentucky communities with at least 5,000 residents.

What are the top 50 in Kentucky?

How big are the largest cities in Kentucky?

Of the 95 places with pages, 2 have more than 100,000 residents, 17 have between 25,000 and 100,000, and 76 have fewer than 25,000. The median place has about 9,715 people. The ten largest places account for about 63% of the combined population of all pages, which shows how concentrated the state's population is across communities. Jefferson County contributes 5 of the top 50.

Which counties do the top 50 belong to?

The 50 places on this list are spread across 36 counties of Kentucky. Jefferson County has 5 (Louisville, Jeffersontown, St. Matthews, Shively, Lyndon); Kenton County has 3 (Covington, Independence, Erlanger); Campbell County has 3 (Fort Thomas, Newport, Alexandria). Counties with several entries are usually centers of a metropolitan area, where one large city is surrounded by many suburbs that each pass the 5,000-resident threshold.

How does Kentucky compare with the rest of the country?

The median Kentucky place with a page has about 9,715 residents, compared with about 13,459 nationwide, so the state's typical community is smaller than the national typical place. Louisville, KY ranks 50th among all US places by estimated population in our data. The state has 538 communities in total, of which 95 reach 5,000 residents. See the national ranking of the largest cities for comparison.

Quick answers about Kentucky cities

• Which is the largest city in Kentucky? Louisville (1,005,654 people).
• How many Kentucky cities have more than 100,000 people? 2 in our data.
• How many have 25,000 to 100,000? 17.
• What is the typical size? About 9,715 residents for a place with a page.

How is this ranking made?

The data comes from the SimpleMaps US Cities Database, which gives each place an estimated population and a density in people per square kilometer. We convert density to people per square mile and rank the places with at least 5,000 residents. Boundaries matter: a city that includes large parks or farmland scores lower on density than a compact city of the same size, and population estimates can include areas that share a city's ZIP codes. Read why population figures differ and how density is calculated before you quote a number.

Where to go next

Rankings use dataset estimates, not official counts.