Latest Census city estimates released May 14, 2026 · Population as of July 1, 2025 · Next city estimates scheduled for May 2027. Release schedule
Louisville, Kentucky population is 795,222 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #18 nationally and #1 in Kentucky. Cost of living runs 6.9% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); the four-person spending scenario corresponds to modeled gross income of $110,348/yr (TY2026 tax assumptions; illustrative scenario, not a minimum adequate income). This consolidated city-county profile draws on 12 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
795,222 people live in Louisville as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #18 largest U.S. city.
How big is Louisville?
Louisville covers 262.8 square miles of land and 11.6 square miles of water. Its population density is about 3,026 residents per square mile of land. Compare U.S. cities by land area →
Source detail: 2025 population
2025 population
Source agency
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Dataset
Census PEP
Vintage / period
Vintage 2025 (Jul 1, 2025)
Native geography
Census PEP subcounty place records for the included city universe.
Transformation
Copied from POPESTIMATE2025, joined by Census GEOID, and used for ranks, filters, and city pages.
Known limit: Annual estimate, not a decennial count; each new PEP vintage can revise the prior series.
Population grew 1.6% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 782,962 → 2025: 795,222 (+1.6%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
782,962
April 1, 2020
2020
782,866
July 1, 2020
2021
777,774
July 1, 2021
2022
778,999
July 1, 2022
2023
784,607
July 1, 2023
2024
794,166
July 1, 2024
2025
795,222
July 1, 2025
Vintage 2019 · not available
Earlier-vintage history is not available for Louisville. Consolidated city-county governments did not receive direct V2019 PEP estimates.
Louisville is the #18 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #1 in Kentucky.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
782,962
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+12,260
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+1.6%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
+1,056
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+0.1%
within V2025 only
Density
3,026
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
262.8
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#18
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#1
of 418 in Kentucky
Place type · consolidated_city
Louisville is a consolidated city-county.
Louisville is a consolidated city-county government. The population shown here is the consolidated total (SUMLEV=170), which combines the city government with the surrounding county. Separately-incorporated enclaves are excluded from this total but counted on their own rows. Density and land area are derived from the balance-entry geometry and are slightly overstated as a result. See the methodology for the SUMLEV=170 ↔ balance-entry mapping.
What is the median household income in Louisville?
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: household income $80,734 ± $166; per-capita income $44,673 ± $122. Margins are at 90% confidence. Comparison badges describe point estimates; they are not significance tests.
Median household income is 13% below the U.S. median ($69,866 vs $80,734); 14.3% live in poverty, 1.8 points above the 12.5% U.S. estimate.
Median household income$69,866
US
Louisville: $69,866 — 13% below the US median of $80,734.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data; censored rows retained in the distribution
Louisville
$69,866
United States
$80,734
Income and poverty estimates for Louisville from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
$69,866-13.5% vs US
±$1,228
Per capita income
$42,087-5.8% vs US
±$591
Population in poverty
14.3% ± 0.7 percentage points
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 25% below the U.S. median ($248,400 vs $332,700); median rent is 19% below ($1,149 vs $1,413); the ratio of median home value to median household income is 3.6× versus 4.1× nationally; this compares two distributions and does not measure an individual household's housing burden.
Median home value$248,400
US
Louisville: $248,400 — 25% below the US median of $332,700.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data; censored rows retained in the distribution
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$1,272/mo
US
Louisville: $1,272/mo — 18% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: home value $332,700 ± $236; gross rent $1,413 ± $2. Comparison badges describe estimates and do not establish statistical significance.
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2025 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Louisville. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
4.5%
Louisville (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
400,932
2025 annual avg
Worked from home
14.2% ± 0.5 percentage points-6.4% vs US
share of workers 16+ working from home · U.S. share: 15.1% · ACS
County context — Louisville sits in Jefferson County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Jefferson County
14.6%
$70,659
4.5%
What workers earn in the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). See methodology §25.
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is the largest tracked occupation in the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro (29,400 jobs, median $46,830/yr).
▸Show all 13 occupations
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
29,400
$46,830
$22.51
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators
20,920
$48,440
$23.29
Stockers and Order Fillers
16,410
$37,610
$18.08
Fast Food and Counter Workers
15,540
$28,690
$13.79
Customer Service Representatives
13,630
$41,600
$20.00
Cashiers
12,630
$30,560
$14.69
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
10,970
$35,860
$17.24
Registered Nurses · benchmark
18,180
$84,850
$40.79
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
17,540
$30,660
$14.74
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
16,830
$89,140
$42.86
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
10,820
$59,000
$28.37
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 6.9% below the U.S. average (RPP 93.1); utilities run 25.0% below (RPP 75.0) — the metro's utility affordability is the main driver.
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 93.1
US
Louisville's cost of living runs 6.9% below the U.S. average (RPP 93.1 vs 100).
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of metro/non-metro areas with a BEA price parity
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 93.1
−6.9% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,272/mo
FY2026 · Louisville, KY-IN HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
3.50%
flat · TY2026
Four-person monthly spending scenario
$9,196/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
One-person monthly spending scenario
$3,230/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax (monthly, single adult)
$71/mo
Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government (occupational tax) · F3 pipeline · details
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
10.0% ± 0.4 percentage points foreign-born (U.S. share 14.1%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (6.7% of residents 5+).
A quick read on Louisville's residents — nativity and languages spoken at home shown above, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. The full demographic breakdown (age, race and ethnicity, household types, and educational attainment, each with its margin of error) lives on the demographics page.
These are K-12 public school districts. Higher education (colleges and universities) is not represented in this dataset.
Public school districts serving Louisville, from the NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files (GRF25, 2024–25 school year boundaries). The join is many-to-many — large cities often span multiple districts, and one district often serves multiple cities. Sorted primary district first. See methodology §12 for the consolidated-city fallback and Milford CT special case.
Source: NCES EDGE GRF25 · school year 2024–25 · methodology →
What is the climate like in Louisville?
Hottest month: July (87°F avg high). Coldest: January (25°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 50.3 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Louisville from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk score: 98.3/100 — Relatively High nationally; top hazard: Tornado (99.7).
Natural-hazard exposure for Louisville from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Jefferson County
98.3
Relatively High
Tornado 99.7 Very High · Riverine Flooding 99.1 Relatively High · Heat Wave 96.9 Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0 · methodology →
How fast is home internet in Louisville?
13 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 98% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Louisville from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of December 31, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
13 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
10
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
98.1%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
98.1%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
182,487
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of December 31, 2025 · methodology →
How much crime is reported in Louisville?
In 2024, law enforcement reported 4,788 violent and 22,513 property offenses in the Louisville Metro jurisdiction — a violent-crime rate of 707.4 per 100,000, above the U.S. estimate of 359.1.
Reported offenses known to law enforcement from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program (CIUS Table 8), 2024. Figures describe the FBI agency jurisdiction: Louisville Metro — an FBI jurisdiction population of 676,843, versus the Census place population of 795,222. The rate per 100,000 is the FBI's own (count ÷ that jurisdiction population), never divided by the Census place figure. These are reported crimes under voluntary participation — not measured or victimization crime — and the FBI cautions against using them to rank or compare places. See methodology §31.
Offenses known, 2024
Count
Rate /100k
U.S. rate
Violent crime
4,788
707.4
359.1
Property crime
22,513
3,326.2
1,760.1
▸Offense breakdown and 2-year trend
Offense, 2024
Count
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter
147
Rape
208
Robbery
868
Aggravated assault
3,565
Burglary
3,084
Larceny-theft
14,123
Motor vehicle theft
5,306
Arson (12-month reporters only)
148
Year
Violent /100k
Property /100k
Jurisdiction pop.
2023
765.5
3,619.9
669,468
2024
707.4
3,326.2
676,843
Only years the agency reported a complete 12 months appear; the FBI does not estimate missing agency-years, so a gap is a non-reporting year, not zero crime.
U.S. rate is the FBI national estimate (imputes non-reporting agencies); the city figures are reported-only. Source: FBI UCR CIUS Table 8 (2023–2024) · FBI agency jurisdiction: Louisville Metro · methodology → · FBI Crime Data Explorer →
In-state context.
Louisville sits at state rank #1 among 418 cities in Kentucky. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: San Francisco, CA · #17 · 826,079 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Seattle, WA · #19 · 784,777 residents.
Quick travel facts for Louisville
Quick travel facts.
Elevation
520 ft · at city centroid, from USGS 3D Elevation Program
Nearest scheduled-service airport
Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport(SDF) · 5 mi 8 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Oct · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS 3DEP · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (OurAirports type=large/medium and scheduled_service=yes; not an FAA service classification) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about Louisville.
How many people live in Louisville, KY?
Louisville has 795,222 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #18 largest city in the United States and #1 in Kentucky. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Louisville growing or shrinking?
Louisville has grown 1.6% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 12,260 residents, including a 0.1% increase from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was Louisville's population in the 2020 census?
782,962 at the April 1, 2020 estimates base. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What county is Louisville in?
Louisville is in Jefferson County, Kentucky.
How big is Louisville?
Louisville covers 262.8 square miles of land, with a population density of about 3,026 residents per square mile. Source: Census Gazetteer 2025.
What is the median household income in Louisville?
$69,866, about 13% below the U.S. median. Source: ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeConsolidated city-county
GEOID2148003
Last build2026-10-09
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Louisville is 2148003. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page. The headline population value above includes a source-detail disclosure with publisher, dataset, vintage, native geography, transformation, and caveat.
