Racial diversity in Kentucky is a mixed bag.
There are parts of Kentucky where there’s a high level of diversity. But where will you find the most diverse places in Kentucky?
To answer that question, we went to the US Census data. Using Saturday Night Science, we measured the Gini coefficient for all 80 cities in Kentucky to rank them from most to least diverse.
#1 most diverse in Kentucky
Located in
Christian County, Kentucky
Oak Grove is a home rule-class city adjacent to the Fort Campbell army base in Christian County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 7,489 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. It is part of the Clarksville, Tennessee metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 most diverse in Kentucky
Located in
Hardin County, Kentucky
Radcliff is a home rule-class city in Hardin County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 21,692 at the 2010 census, and in 2016 the estimated population was 22,490. It is included in the Elizabethtown-Fort Knox Metropolitan Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 most diverse in Kentucky
Louisville LOO–vl or LUUV-l) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 29th-most populous city in the United States. It is one of two cities in Kentucky designated as first-class, the other being the state’s second-largest city of Lexington. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County.
#4 most diverse in Kentucky
Located in
Christian County, Kentucky
Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 31,577.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 most diverse in Kentucky
Located in
Warren County, Kentucky
Bowling Green is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. As of 2016, its population of 65,234 made it the third most-populous city in the state after Louisville and Lexington; its metropolitan area had an estimated population of 165,732; and the combined statistical area it shares with Glasgow has an estimated population of 218,870.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 most diverse in Kentucky
Located in
Jefferson County, Kentucky
Shively is a home rule-class city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States and a suburb of Louisville within the Louisville Metro government. As of the 2010 Census, the city’s population was 15,264, reflecting an increase of 107 from 15,157 in 2000.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 most diverse in Kentucky
Located in
Graves County, Kentucky
Mayfield is a home rule-class city in Graves County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 10,024 as of the 2010 U.S. census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 most diverse in Kentucky
Lexington, consolidated with Fayette County and often denoted as Lexington-Fayette, is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 60th-largest city in the United States. By land area, Lexington is the 28th largest city in the United States. Known as the “Horse Capital of the World,” it is the heart of the state’s Bluegrass region. With a mayor-alderman form of government, it is one of two cities in Kentucky designated by the state as first-class; the other is the state’s largest city of Louisville. In the 2016 U.S. Census Estimate, the city’s population was 318,449, anchoring a metropolitan area of 506,751 people and a combined statistical area of 723,849 people. Due to constant increases in population, Lexington suffers some of the worst traffic congestion in Kentucky, because two interstates bypass the city to the north and east, resulting in a lack of freeways going through the most populated areas of the city.
#9 most diverse in Kentucky
Located in
Shelby County, Kentucky
Shelbyville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Shelby County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 14,045 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 most diverse in Kentucky
Located in
Hardin County, Kentucky
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.
On the map
Where diversity lives in Kentucky
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most diverse cities in Kentucky for 2026
We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the Census — and Saturday Night Science. So that’s where we went to get the race breakdown across Kentucky.
That leads us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2020-2024 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:
- 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*
- Hispanic or Latino
We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 80 cities.
We then calculated the HHI for each city by finding the racial breakdown of a city in percent terms, squaring them, and then adding the squares together. This left us with scores ranging from 3,636 (Oak Grove) to 9,165 (Edgewood).
Finally, we ranked each city based on the HHI, with a lower score being more diverse than a high score. Oak Grove took the distinction of being the most diverse, while Edgewood was the least diverse city.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the most diverse places in Kentucky.
The full plate
Race By City In Kentucky For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | HHI | % White | % Black | % Hispanic | % Asian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oak Grove | 7,962 | 3,636 | 54.2% | 20.3% | 14.4% | 1.6% |
| 2 | Radcliff | 22,864 | 4,052 | 58.4% | 22.6% | 9.7% | 3.3% |
| 3 | Louisville/Jefferson County metro government (balance) | 631,818 | 4,148 | 59.4% | 22.1% | 9.5% | 2.9% |
| 4 | Hopkinsville | 30,906 | 4,178 | 58.2% | 26.1% | 5.0% | 1.1% |
| 5 | Bowling Green | 75,388 | 4,246 | 62.1% | 14.1% | 10.6% | 7.7% |
| 6 | Shively | 15,638 | 4,610 | 34.6% | 58.2% | 2.7% | 0.1% |
| 7 | Mayfield | 9,868 | 4,743 | 65.3% | 12.3% | 17.4% | 0.6% |
| 8 | Lexington-Fayette urban county | 323,725 | 4,794 | 66.7% | 14.4% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| 9 | Shelbyville | 17,668 | 4,950 | 67.1% | 5.6% | 19.3% | 0.8% |
| 10 | Vine Grove | 6,830 | 5,105 | 69.4% | 13.5% | 5.7% | 3.9% |
| 11 | Paducah | 26,845 | 5,268 | 69.7% | 19.2% | 3.1% | 1.4% |
| 12 | Lebanon | 6,430 | 5,374 | 70.4% | 17.9% | 9.7% | 0.6% |
| 13 | Hillview | 8,797 | 5,452 | 72.4% | 6.8% | 11.5% | 3.1% |
| 14 | Frankfort | 28,503 | 5,456 | 72.0% | 14.2% | 6.4% | 2.3% |
| 15 | Jeffersontown | 29,199 | 5,533 | 72.6% | 13.9% | 6.1% | 3.3% |
| 16 | Lyndon | 11,030 | 5,609 | 73.2% | 14.0% | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| 17 | Elizabethtown | 32,576 | 5,723 | 74.3% | 11.5% | 5.6% | 3.1% |
| 18 | Middletown | 9,763 | 5,805 | 75.0% | 7.1% | 7.4% | 7.9% |
| 19 | Covington | 41,110 | 5,838 | 75.2% | 8.4% | 8.7% | 1.0% |
| 20 | Versailles | 10,492 | 6,053 | 76.5% | 5.8% | 11.8% | 0.5% |
| 21 | Florence | 32,803 | 6,085 | 77.0% | 6.7% | 9.2% | 3.4% |
| 22 | Madisonville | 19,515 | 6,193 | 77.7% | 10.0% | 4.8% | 1.1% |
| 23 | Henderson | 27,852 | 6,280 | 78.0% | 12.3% | 5.1% | 0.6% |
| 24 | Danville | 17,327 | 6,297 | 78.3% | 10.2% | 6.2% | 0.4% |
| 25 | Bardstown | 13,804 | 6,319 | 78.0% | 13.8% | 6.0% | 0.3% |
| 26 | Owensboro | 60,302 | 6,353 | 79.0% | 6.3% | 5.6% | 2.7% |
| 27 | Glasgow | 15,197 | 6,377 | 79.0% | 7.7% | 7.5% | 1.0% |
| 28 | Paris | 10,160 | 6,444 | 79.4% | 8.6% | 6.2% | 0.2% |
| 29 | Elsmere | 9,205 | 6,519 | 80.1% | 3.3% | 6.3% | 2.7% |
| 30 | Russellville | 7,316 | 6,545 | 80.0% | 9.7% | 6.0% | 0.4% |
| 31 | Franklin | 10,360 | 6,637 | 80.6% | 8.6% | 3.5% | 0.2% |
| 32 | Erlanger | 19,875 | 6,699 | 81.3% | 6.0% | 4.8% | 1.3% |
| 33 | Campbellsville | 11,622 | 6,715 | 81.1% | 9.7% | 2.9% | 0.9% |
| 34 | Douglass Hills | 5,474 | 6,730 | 81.4% | 7.3% | 3.0% | 2.8% |
| 35 | Murray | 18,080 | 6,735 | 81.6% | 6.9% | 3.4% | 3.6% |
| 36 | Georgetown | 39,117 | 6,735 | 81.4% | 5.9% | 7.0% | 0.9% |
| 37 | Harrodsburg | 9,313 | 6,747 | 81.4% | 7.6% | 6.5% | 0.1% |
| 38 | Princeton | 6,241 | 6,923 | 82.3% | 11.7% | 1.2% | 0.0% |
| 39 | Monticello | 5,753 | 6,923 | 82.2% | 3.7% | 12.1% | 0.1% |
| 40 | Nicholasville | 32,197 | 7,042 | 83.5% | 4.9% | 5.6% | 2.2% |
| 41 | Richmond | 37,111 | 7,047 | 83.5% | 5.8% | 4.2% | 1.4% |
| 42 | Newport | 13,967 | 7,131 | 83.9% | 6.0% | 6.6% | 0.3% |
| 43 | Maysville | 8,737 | 7,166 | 84.1% | 7.6% | 3.7% | 0.1% |
| 44 | Fort Wright | 5,887 | 7,228 | 84.5% | 1.7% | 5.9% | 0.2% |
| 45 | Winchester | 19,213 | 7,253 | 84.8% | 4.7% | 4.4% | 1.3% |
| 46 | St. Matthews | 17,577 | 7,376 | 85.6% | 4.1% | 3.5% | 2.3% |
| 47 | Somerset | 12,216 | 7,439 | 85.9% | 3.3% | 5.9% | 0.2% |
| 48 | Fort Mitchell | 8,713 | 7,535 | 86.4% | 4.0% | 5.1% | 0.0% |
| 49 | Central City | 5,707 | 7,563 | 86.6% | 3.9% | 3.4% | 0.4% |
| 50 | Williamsburg | 5,270 | 7,571 | 86.6% | 5.2% | 5.8% | 0.4% |
| 51 | La Grange | 10,311 | 7,631 | 86.9% | 1.9% | 7.9% | 1.0% |
| 52 | Villa Hills | 7,480 | 7,659 | 87.2% | 1.0% | 5.6% | 1.1% |
| 53 | Walton | 5,730 | 7,668 | 87.2% | 0.0% | 2.0% | 0.0% |
| 54 | Berea | 15,786 | 7,725 | 87.6% | 3.0% | 5.2% | 0.7% |
| 55 | Highland Heights | 6,444 | 7,729 | 87.7% | 2.9% | 2.1% | 2.2% |
| 56 | Wilmore | 6,057 | 7,803 | 88.1% | 2.6% | 1.4% | 0.3% |
| 57 | Middlesborough | 9,123 | 7,862 | 88.4% | 5.8% | 1.0% | 0.7% |
| 58 | Hazard | 5,008 | 7,865 | 88.4% | 3.8% | 0.9% | 0.2% |
| 59 | Fort Thomas | 17,169 | 7,912 | 88.8% | 2.3% | 3.0% | 0.6% |
| 60 | Dayton | 5,743 | 7,934 | 88.8% | 1.6% | 2.8% | 0.4% |
| 61 | Crestwood | 6,356 | 8,029 | 89.4% | 1.8% | 4.7% | 0.8% |
| 62 | Union | 7,642 | 8,038 | 89.4% | 0.0% | 3.0% | 1.8% |
| 63 | Pikeville | 7,490 | 8,050 | 89.6% | 3.5% | 1.9% | 2.4% |
| 64 | Cynthiana | 6,458 | 8,152 | 90.1% | 2.9% | 2.1% | 0.0% |
| 65 | Morehead | 6,870 | 8,181 | 90.3% | 3.2% | 2.2% | 2.0% |
| 66 | Lawrenceburg | 11,943 | 8,232 | 90.6% | 4.2% | 2.7% | 0.1% |
| 67 | Mount Sterling | 7,551 | 8,314 | 91.1% | 2.5% | 2.3% | 1.2% |
| 68 | Bellevue | 5,636 | 8,320 | 91.1% | 1.3% | 4.1% | 0.9% |
| 69 | Ashland | 21,295 | 8,340 | 91.2% | 2.0% | 2.7% | 0.4% |
| 70 | Alexandria | 10,562 | 8,351 | 91.3% | 2.5% | 1.1% | 2.6% |
| 71 | Independence | 29,392 | 8,369 | 91.4% | 1.5% | 2.5% | 1.0% |
| 72 | Shepherdsville | 14,533 | 8,554 | 92.4% | 1.5% | 2.4% | 0.1% |
| 73 | Mount Washington | 18,480 | 8,604 | 92.6% | 0.0% | 3.1% | 0.6% |
| 74 | London | 7,561 | 8,734 | 93.4% | 1.0% | 2.6% | 0.9% |
| 75 | Cold Spring | 6,341 | 8,888 | 94.2% | 2.2% | 1.1% | 0.9% |
| 76 | Corbin | 8,246 | 8,971 | 94.7% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 0.1% |
| 77 | Leitchfield | 6,819 | 9,009 | 94.9% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 0.0% |
| 78 | Flatwoods | 7,269 | 9,119 | 95.4% | 0.1% | 1.5% | 0.5% |
| 79 | Taylor Mill | 6,937 | 9,125 | 95.5% | 1.9% | 1.6% | 0.2% |
| 80 | Edgewood | 8,447 | 9,165 | 95.7% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 1.9% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 80 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Diversity Across Kentucky
If you’re looking for a scientific breakdown of diversity across Kentucky, this is an accurate list.
The most diverse cities in Kentucky are Oak Grove, Radcliff, Louisville/Jefferson County metro government (balance), Hopkinsville, Bowling Green, Shively, Mayfield, Lexington-Fayette urban county, Shelbyville, and Vine Grove.
