KY · Jefferson County · 633,045 (2020) · 29th-largest US city · Eastern time
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville lies on the south bank of the Ohio River at the Falls of the Ohio in north-central Kentucky, across from southern Indiana. It is the largest city in Kentucky and the twenty-ninth in the United States.
- State
- Kentucky
- County
- Jefferson County (consolidated)
- Population (2020)
- 633,045
- Rank
- 29th in the US
- Coordinates
- 38.25°N, 85.76°W
- Time zone
- Eastern
- Metro area
- about 1.3 million
- State capital
- No – Frankfort
Where Louisville is
Louisville is at 38.25°N, 85.76°W in Jefferson County. Since a 2003 merger the city and county form Louisville Metro, about 385 square miles, though the census figure used here excludes the small independent cities inside it. The city sits on the Ohio River floodplain at about 465 feet above sea level, with the Knobs — a ring of conical hills — rising to the south and east. The site owes its existence to the Falls of the Ohio, the only natural obstruction on the river's 981 miles, where boats once had to unload. Indiana is across the river. Frankfort, the state capital, is 55 miles east; Indianapolis 115 miles north and Cincinnati 100 miles northeast.
Population and rank
The 2020 Census counted 633,045 residents for the Louisville/Jefferson County balance, ranking it 29th in the US — 59 people behind Memphis — and first in Kentucky, far ahead of Lexington (323,000). Before the 2003 merger the old city of Louisville had about 256,000 people. The Louisville/Jefferson County metropolitan area spans 13 counties in Kentucky and southern Indiana and has about 1.3 million people, the largest metro in the state.
Geography
- Ohio River — flows west past the city toward the Mississippi; the Falls, a two-mile series of rapids over limestone, are now bypassed by the McAlpine Locks and largely submerged. See the Ohio River map.
- Beargrass Creek — the main stream through the city, entering the Ohio near downtown.
- The Knobs — steep wooded hills of the Knobs region at the south and east edges of the county; Jefferson Memorial Forest, one of the largest municipal forests in the US, occupies part of them.
- Floodplain — the city's west end lies low along the river and is protected by a levee and floodwall built after the great 1937 flood.
Nearest large cities
Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Nashville and Lexington are all within three hours. Distances are approximate road miles from downtown.
| City | State | Road distance (mi) | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis | IN | 115 | N |
| Nashville | TN | 175 | S |
| Columbus | OH | 210 | NE |
| Memphis | TN | 385 | SW |
| Cleveland | OH | 350 | NE |
Is Louisville the state capital?
No. Kentucky's capital is Frankfort, a city of about 28,000 on the Kentucky River 55 miles east, chosen in 1792 as a compromise between Louisville and Lexington. Louisville is the seat of Jefferson County and the largest city in the state. Kentucky is split between time zones; Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort are all on Eastern time, while the western part of the state uses Central.
Related maps
- Kentucky map — the state with its 120 counties.
- Frankfort — the state capital, 55 miles east.
- US cities map.
- Ohio River map.
- Nearby: Indianapolis, Nashville, Indiana.
- East South Central division · Eastern Time Zone (western Kentucky is on Central).