The 10 Kentucky Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2023


We used science and data to determine which cities in Kentucky have the largest African American population.

The Black community is one of the fastest growing communities in America this decade.

There are now 42 million people who identify as Black or African American living in America, making up 12% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Black population in Kentucky is 356,610 - at 7.9% of the total population of Kentucky.

The percentage growth of Blacks in America is the third largest percentage change for any race according to the Census's race and ethnicity definition. As most scholars and historians agree, an increase in the diversity in America is a good thing.

We agree.

But how has the increase in the black population impacted Kentucky? Which cities and towns in Kentucky have seen the greatest increase in its Black population?

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in Kentucky with the largest African American population in 2023:

  1. Shively
  2. Hopkinsville
  3. Radcliff
  4. Oak Grove
  5. Louisville
  6. Paducah
  7. Lyndon
  8. Russellville
  9. Franklin
  10. Lexington

What's the blackest city in Kentucky? Shively took the number one over all spot for the largest Black population in Kentucky for 2023. See if it ranked as one of the most african american cities in America.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked.

To see where Kentucky ranked as a state on diversity, we have a ranking of the most diverse states in America.

And if you already knew these places were Black, check out the best places to live in Kentucky or the most diverse places in Kentucky.

The 10 Blackest Cities In Kentucky For 2023

1. Shively

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 15,638
% African American: 51.5%
# Of African American Residents: 8,053
Percent Change Since 2010: 14.45%
More on Shively: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Shively, KY

2. Hopkinsville

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 30,771
% African American: 27.32%
# Of African American Residents: 8,406
Percent Change Since 2010: -18.21%
More on Hopkinsville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Hopkinsville, KY

Source: Public domain

3. Radcliff

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 22,839
% African American: 27.25%
# Of African American Residents: 6,223
Percent Change Since 2010: 15.43%
More on Radcliff: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Radcliff, KY

4. Oak Grove

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,699
% African American: 25.65%
# Of African American Residents: 1,975
Percent Change Since 2010: 28.25%
More on Oak Grove: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Oak Grove, KY

5. Louisville

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 630,260
% African American: 23.49%
# Of African American Residents: 148,035
Percent Change Since 2010: 13.0%
More on Louisville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Louisville, KY

6. Paducah

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 26,248
% African American: 22.35%
# Of African American Residents: 5,866
Percent Change Since 2010: 0.38%
More on Paducah: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Paducah, KY

7. Lyndon

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 11,033
% African American: 15.98%
# Of African American Residents: 1,763
Percent Change Since 2010: 27.48%
More on Lyndon: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Lyndon, KY

Source: Public domain

8. Russellville

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,068
% African American: 15.76%
# Of African American Residents: 1,114
Percent Change Since 2010: 0.91%
More on Russellville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Russellville, KY

Source: Public domain

9. Franklin

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 9,885
% African American: 15.5%
# Of African American Residents: 1,532
Percent Change Since 2010: -1.48%
More on Franklin: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Franklin, KY

Source: Public domain

10. Lexington

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 321,354
% African American: 14.47%
# Of African American Residents: 46,488
Percent Change Since 2010: 13.46%
More on Lexington: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Lexington, KY

Source: Public domain

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Kentucky With The Largest Black Population For 2023

We still believe in the accuracy of data -- especially from the census. So that's where we went to get the breakdown of race across Kentucky.

That lead us to the Census's most recently available data, the 2017-2021 American Community Survey data from the US Census.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • White alone*
  • Black or African American alone*
  • American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
  • Asian alone*
  • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
  • Some other race alone*
  • Two or more races*
* Not Hispanic or latino

Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as Black or African American.

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 75 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 51.5% to 0.0%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of Black population with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Shively took the distinction of being the most Black, while Union was the least African American city. You can download the data here.

Read on for more information on how the cities in Kentucky ranked by population of African American residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

Summary: Black Populations Across Kentucky

If you're looking for a breakdown of African American populations across Kentucky according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the least African American places in Kentucky:

  1. Union
  2. Taylor Mill
  3. Bellevue

For more Kentucky reading, check out:

African American Population By City In Kentucky

Rank City % African American Population
1 Shively 51.5% 15,638
2 Hopkinsville 27.32% 30,771
3 Radcliff 27.25% 22,839
4 Oak Grove 25.65% 7,699
5 Louisville 23.49% 630,260
6 Paducah 22.35% 26,248
7 Lyndon 15.98% 11,033
8 Russellville 15.76% 7,068
9 Franklin 15.5% 9,885
10 Lexington 14.47% 321,354
11 Lebanon 14.44% 6,165
12 Jeffersontown 13.93% 28,800
13 Frankfort 13.67% 28,479
14 Bowling Green 12.36% 71,422
15 Mayfield 12.25% 10,041
16 Bardstown 12.15% 13,425
17 Elizabethtown 11.98% 31,066
18 Douglass Hills 11.9% 5,480
19 Danville 11.87% 17,164
20 Princeton 11.44% 6,206
21 Shelbyville 11.19% 16,932
22 Madisonville 10.56% 19,533
23 Covington 10.4% 40,930
24 Henderson 10.06% 28,201
25 Campbellsville 9.31% 11,345
26 Middletown 8.83% 9,473
27 Paris 8.59% 10,202
28 Harrodsburg 8.03% 8,952
29 Newport 7.6% 14,378
30 Winchester 7.22% 18,993
31 Owensboro 6.83% 59,839
32 Glasgow 6.75% 14,922
33 Maysville 6.69% 8,851
34 Murray 6.48% 17,241
35 Florence 6.46% 31,699
36 Highland Heights 6.0% 6,896
37 Richmond 5.96% 34,662
38 Versailles 5.91% 10,196
39 La Grange 5.59% 9,901
40 Georgetown 5.54% 36,281
41 St. Matthews 5.4% 17,588
42 Elsmere 4.89% 9,080
43 Williamsburg 4.82% 5,272
44 Erlanger 4.56% 19,506
45 Lawrenceburg 4.51% 11,675
46 Nicholasville 4.48% 31,066
47 Mount Sterling 4.47% 7,517
48 Dayton 4.33% 5,641
49 Hillview 4.26% 8,638
50 Middlesborough 3.95% 9,493
51 Somerset 3.33% 11,696
52 Berea 3.2% 15,465
53 Monticello 3.18% 5,782
54 London 2.92% 7,492
55 Central City 2.89% 5,958
56 Independence 2.7% 28,256
57 Fort Wright 2.62% 5,845
58 Morehead 2.44% 6,994
59 Cynthiana 2.18% 6,291
60 Pikeville 2.17% 7,376
61 Shepherdsville 2.13% 13,918
62 Edgewood 1.64% 8,427
63 Ashland 1.59% 21,695
64 Cold Spring 1.5% 6,208
65 Leitchfield 1.03% 6,427
66 Fort Mitchell 0.94% 8,618
67 Corbin 0.83% 8,397
68 Fort Thomas 0.74% 17,241
69 Alexandria 0.59% 10,125
70 Flatwoods 0.59% 7,314
71 Mount Washington 0.32% 17,723
72 Villa Hills 0.2% 7,331
73 Bellevue 0.07% 5,578
74 Taylor Mill 0.0% 6,834
75 Union 0.0% 7,227

How Is The Area In ?

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the cities in Kentucky with the largest African American population.
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.