Louisville is a city located in Kentucky. With a 2020 population of 615,924, it is the largest city in Kentucky and the 29th largest city in the United States. Louisville is currently declining at a rate of -0.14% annually but its population has increased by 3.11% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 597,337 in 2010. Louisville reached it's highest population of 619,728 in 2017. Spanning over 275 miles, Louisville has a population density of 2,338 people per square mile.
The average household income in Louisville is $74,580 with a poverty rate of 15.92%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $846 per month, and the median house value is $158,700. The median age in Louisville is 37.6 years, 36 years for males, and 39.2 years for females. For every 100 females there are 94.0 males.
Since 2003, the borders of Louisville are the same as Jefferson County, making Louisville a consolidated city-county.
Louisville Religion Statistics
There are around 136,000 Roman Catholics in the city, most of whom are of German descent from large-scale immigration in the 19th century. 30% of Louisvillians are Southern Baptist, many of whom are descendants of people who moved to the city from Tennessee and rural Kentucky to work in the factories. German immigrants also brought Evangelical and Lutheran faiths to the city, which are still present today.
There are about 8,500 Jewish people in Louisville, as many Jewish families moved to the area from Eastern Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as 4,000 to 10,000 practicing Muslims. In 2005, Louisville was ranked as the 7th safest large city in the country.
Louisville Population Growth
About 30% of the population growth in all of Kentucky is in Louisville's CSA counties. The consolidation of Louisville and Jefferson County also caused Louisville to grow 189% from 2000 to 2010. The region has been increasing slowly thanks to steady job growth, a low cost of living and affordable home prices. Louisville's growth can also be attributed to Kentucky residents moving from rural areas to the city, as the state as a whole grew just 6% from 2000 to 2010.
The Louisville area was chosen as a settlement because it is located at the Falls of the Ohio State Park, which created a barrier to river travel. The first European settlement was Corn Island in 1779. Two years later, the town charter for Louisville was approved, and the city was named in honor of King Louis XVI of France, whose soldiers were then helping Americans in the Revolutionary War. Early residents eventually moved out by the 1780s due to Indian raids.
The city's growth in the 1800s was influenced by the fact that river boats had to unload and move downriver before reaching the falls. By 1828, the population reached 7,000, and the city was incorporated. It became a shipping port, and it was known as a point of escape for slaves moving north. It was also a stronghold for Union troops during the Civil War.
During World War II, Louisville became a center for factory war production, which later transitioned into manufacturing tractors and agricultural equipment. Like many other older cities in the country, the population began to shift in the 1960s as more people fled to the suburbs.