You’ve deposited your last paycheck, and you’re looking for a place to retire in the Bluegrass State. We’re here to help you find the best places in Kentucky for retirement.
Why would anyone want to retire in Kentucky? Rent in Kentucky is 30% less than the national average, and it’s among the safest states in America.
Now that every day is the weekend, you’ll be able to sample all of Kentucky’s world-famous bourbon distilleries any day of the week. If you like bluegrass music, then Kentucky’s going to be heaven for you.
To find the best places to retire in Kentucky, we looked at the 40 cities in Kentucky with populations of at least 10,000 people. Then we pulled data from the Census, the FBI’s Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights. We found the places with higher median age, good weather, low crime, low cost of living, and easy access to things that’ll keep you entertained in your retirement.
$832 median rent · $55,839 median income · #5 cheapest rent in Kentucky
Located in
Bourbon County, Kentucky
Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in the United States. It lies 18 miles northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. It is the seat of its county and forms part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 8,553.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$762 median rent · $52,646 median income · #2 cheapest rent in Kentucky
Located in
Boyle County, Kentucky
Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 16,690 at the 2015 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$775 median rent · $34,704 median income · #4 cheapest rent in Kentucky
Located in
Pulaski County, Kentucky
Somerset is a home rule-class city in Pulaski County, Kentucky, United States. The city population was 11,196 according to the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$970 median rent · $75,840 median income · #21 cheapest rent in Kentucky
Located in
Kenton County, Kentucky
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$838 median rent · $53,860 median income · #8 cheapest rent in Kentucky
Located in
Hopkins County, Kentucky
Madisonville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Hopkins County, Kentucky, United States, located along Interstate 69 in the state’s Western Coal Fields region. The population was 19,591 at the 2010 census. Madisonville is a commercial center of the region and is home to Madisonville Community College.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$834 median rent · $49,915 median income · #6 cheapest rent in Kentucky
Located in
McCracken County, Kentucky
Paducah is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio Rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missouri, to the northwest and Nashville, Tennessee, to the southeast. The population was 24,864 in 2015, down from 25,024 during the 2010 U.S. Census. Twenty blocks of the city’s downtown have been designated as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,010 median rent · $59,052 median income · #27 cheapest rent in Kentucky
Located in
Simpson County, Kentucky
Franklin is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Simpson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,408 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$872 median rent · $52,715 median income · #11 cheapest rent in Kentucky
Located in
Boyd County, Kentucky
Ashland is a home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, in the United States. Ashland, the largest city in Boyd County, is located upon the southern bank of the Ohio River. The population was 21,684 at the 2010 census. Ashland is a part of the Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area; with a population of 363,000. Ashland is the second-largest city within the MSA, after Huntington, West Virginia. Ashland serves as an important economic and medical center for northeast Kentucky and is part of the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Kentucky.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,126 median rent · $104,350 median income · #30 cheapest rent in Kentucky
Located in
Campbell County, Kentucky
Fort Thomas is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States, on the southern bank of the Ohio River and the site of an 1890 US Army post. The population was 16,325 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in Campbell County and it is officially part of the Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,160 median rent · $62,368 median income · #33 cheapest rent in Kentucky
Located in
Woodford County, Kentucky
Versailles is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States and is located near Lexington. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,568 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Woodford County. The city’s name is pronounced vr-SAYLZ, not like the French city of the same name.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Kentucky’s statewide median.
Kentucky statewide median: $63,726
Kentucky statewide median: $231,894
On the map
Where to retire in Kentucky
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Places To Retire In the Bluegrass State for 2026
To create our ranking of the best places in Kentucky to retire, we used Saturday Night Science. We analyzed Census data to find all places in the Bluegrass State — 520 cities and towns.
We then narrowed it down to places with at least 10,000 people that weren’t townships. This left us with 40 places from across the state.
For these 40, we looked at the following criteria taken from the Census, the FBI’s Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights:
- Low cost of living as measured by rent
- Low crime
- Things to do (Museums, Colleges, and Libraries in town)
- Nice weather
- Distance to the closest international airport
- Other retirees (High median age)
We then ranked each of these places for each criterion from one to 40, with the lowest number being the best.
Finally, we took the average rank across these criteria. The place, in this case Paris, with the lowest average rank, was crowned the best of the best, a place for you to start your second career.
The report has been updated for 2026. This list reflects our eleventh time ranking the best places to retire in Kentucky.
The full plate
Best Places To Retire In Kentucky
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Retire Score | Population | Median Income | Average Home Prices | Median Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris | 10.20 | 10,160 | $55,839 | $256,361 | $832 |
| 2 | Danville | 13.50 | 17,327 | $52,646 | $247,085 | $762 |
| 3 | Somerset | 14.20 | 12,216 | $34,704 | $191,314 | $775 |
| 4 | Erlanger | 14.90 | 19,875 | $75,840 | $245,646 | $970 |
| 5 | Madisonville | 15.10 | 19,515 | $53,860 | $159,338 | $838 |
| 6 | Paducah | 16.00 | 26,845 | $49,915 | $191,091 | $834 |
| 7 | Franklin | 16.00 | 10,360 | $59,052 | $247,589 | $1,010 |
| 8 | Ashland | 16.20 | 21,295 | $52,715 | $121,324 | $872 |
| 9 | Fort Thomas | 16.90 | 17,169 | $104,350 | $368,293 | $1,126 |
| 10 | Versailles | 17.00 | 10,492 | $62,368 | $348,651 | $1,160 |
| 11 | Campbellsville | 17.60 | 11,622 | $49,644 | $209,817 | $685 |
| 12 | Frankfort | 18.10 | 28,503 | $53,073 | $240,679 | $944 |
| 13 | Bardstown | 18.10 | 13,804 | $51,381 | $262,584 | $977 |
| 14 | Henderson | 18.60 | 27,852 | $48,186 | $198,772 | $771 |
| 15 | Mount Washington | 19.30 | 18,480 | $96,239 | $325,406 | $1,008 |
| 16 | Glasgow | 19.30 | 15,197 | $43,074 | $214,446 | $849 |
| 17 | Lawrenceburg | 19.60 | 11,943 | $66,486 | $261,326 | $954 |
| 18 | Alexandria | 19.70 | 10,562 | $102,239 | $338,680 | $1,195 |
| 19 | Elizabethtown | 20.00 | 32,576 | $60,760 | $268,313 | $909 |
| 20 | Winchester | 20.10 | 19,213 | $54,378 | $256,849 | $916 |
| 21 | Newport | 20.50 | 13,967 | $60,853 | $242,641 | $1,087 |
| 22 | Shelbyville | 20.70 | 17,668 | $75,610 | $305,922 | $1,033 |
| 23 | Covington | 21.10 | 41,110 | $61,166 | $221,429 | $1,006 |
| 24 | Shepherdsville | 21.60 | 14,533 | $71,476 | $285,270 | $943 |
| 25 | Hopkinsville | 21.80 | 30,906 | $49,139 | $195,680 | $902 |
| 26 | Shively | 21.90 | 15,638 | $50,221 | $174,485 | $899 |
| 27 | Independence | 22.20 | 29,392 | $102,361 | $323,031 | $1,250 |
| 28 | Murray | 22.30 | 18,080 | $44,091 | $198,098 | $870 |
| 29 | Berea | 22.60 | 15,786 | $59,495 | $247,721 | $835 |
| 30 | Nicholasville | 23.00 | 32,197 | $68,503 | $320,269 | $1,147 |
| 31 | La Grange | 23.20 | 10,311 | $88,464 | $392,372 | $1,143 |
| 32 | Florence | 23.40 | 32,803 | $71,003 | $286,328 | $1,329 |
| 33 | Bowling Green | 24.50 | 75,388 | $48,873 | $288,241 | $998 |
| 34 | Richmond | 24.80 | 37,111 | $50,870 | $297,033 | $917 |
| 35 | Jeffersontown | 25.10 | 29,199 | $81,506 | $282,762 | $1,320 |
| 36 | Owensboro | 25.20 | 60,302 | $56,357 | $209,852 | $905 |
| 37 | Georgetown | 27.00 | 39,117 | $80,088 | $336,540 | $1,255 |
| 38 | Radcliff | 28.10 | 22,864 | $58,559 | $209,910 | $971 |
| 39 | Lyndon | 28.60 | 11,030 | $65,679 | $312,200 | $1,246 |
| 40 | St. Matthews | 32.00 | 17,577 | $82,412 | $381,227 | $1,369 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, FBI UCR, OpenFlights. 40 cities with more than 10,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Maybe You’re Not Ready To Retire In Kentucky Yet…
So there you have it, the best place to retire in Kentucky goes to Paris.
The best places to retire in Kentucky are Paris, Danville, Somerset, Erlanger, Madisonville, Paducah, Franklin, Ashland, Fort Thomas, and Versailles.
If you’re not ready to hang up your office apparel yet, then these places might be up your alley. Not sold on Kentucky? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Places To Retire In Kentucky FAQs
What is the best place to retire in Kentucky?
Paris is the best place to retire in Kentucky for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Danville and Somerset are next.
What are the best places to retire in Kentucky?
The best places to retire in Kentucky are Paris, Danville, Somerset, Erlanger, Madisonville, Paducah, Franklin, Ashland, Fort Thomas, and Versailles. We ranked all 40 cities with more than 10,000 residents.
How do you rank retirement spots?
We score every qualifying Kentucky city on rent, crime, things to do, weather, airport access, and median age. The city that balances all six best, Paris, takes the top spot.
How much does a home cost in Paris?
The median home in Paris runs $256,361, against $231,894 across Kentucky as a whole. Across the full top ten, the median home costs $246,366.
Which Kentucky place came in last for retirees?
St. Matthews lands at the bottom of the retirement ranking for Kentucky. Not ready to retire anyway? Then St. Matthews might suit you fine.
