Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Paducah gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $193K, 3 years of the Paducah metro’s $64K median household income. It grades C overall, 101st of 138 graded towns in Kentucky. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 90% of the country. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 33 places on the National Register. 53% of working residents work locally in Paducah, where Kentucky’s towns sit at 15% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include Grace Episcopal Church and Mayor David A. Yeiser House. On safety, just 13 of Kentucky’s 180 towns do worse.
Where Paducah beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Mayor David A. Yeiser House
Census counts: 105 in 1830, 27,137 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 6 maps from 1926 on.
33 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Paducah is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Paducah, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Paducah.
Paducah draws workers from Hendron and beyond, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Kentucky (mostly earthquakes) and trails Hendron and its other neighbors on schools.
Walkers can cover 15 miles of trail in 18 parks and preserves. Bob Noble Park, at 163 acres with 1.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Paducah’s trail network density comes in at 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Paducah | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.3% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bob Noble Park | 1.9 mi | 163 |
| 2. White Haven | 0.5 mi | 13 |
| 3. Dolly McNutt Memorial Plaza | 0.3 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its B+, Hendron highest at A.
The largest public high school is Paducah Tilghman High School, with 860 students. The Paducah Independent school district runs its public schools. Of its 12 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paducah Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 632 | C+ |
| Paducah Tilghman High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 860 | B− |
| Concord Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 606 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
29,099 jobs are based in Paducah, 2.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15.7 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky.
The top destinations are Mayfield (2%), Calvert City (2%) and Murray (2%). Paducah’s typical journey to work stands at 16 minutes. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs here rose by 3,249, to 29,099. Just over a fifth of Paducah residents live below the poverty line.
| Paducah | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 22% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7% | 10% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among adults in Paducah, 16% have diabetes and 12% binge drink. 45% of adults have high blood pressure locally.
| Paducah | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 38% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 39% | 35% |
| What stands out | Paducah | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.7% | 5.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 12.4% | 8.8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 21.4% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of Kentucky towns, with expected losses of about $952 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 67 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 14 properties have flooded more than once.
Among 141 Kentucky towns, just 5 have a higher FEMA risk score than Paducah. The town has had 67 paid flood insurance claims since 1979. Expected losses in Paducah break down as 47% from earthquakes and 30% from inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Paducah after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2025.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 859 to 697 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Paducah, the level of violent crime is 2.7 per 1,000 residents. Among 115 Kentucky towns, just 7 have a higher property crime rate than Paducah.
| Paducah | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.5 per 1,000 residents | 8.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of households in Paducah who own their home: 55%. Homes locally are typically worth about $193,000, down 1.2% in a year, 17% below the Kentucky typical home. The town’s typical rent is $834 a month.
| Paducah | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $834 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The age mix tracks Kentucky closely: no broad group is more than 4 points off. Kentucky has 28% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 29%. The midpoint age for Paducah comes to 41.5 years.
| Paducah | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 20% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 41.5 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.6 points). Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women. Median age: women 43.2, men 39.3.
| Paducah | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.8% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.8% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.9% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.8% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.9% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.7% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.5% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.5% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.1% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.1% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.6% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.2% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of Paducah
About 5 of every 100 Paducah residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
33 places in Paducah on the National Register of Historic Places.
44 notable people were born in Paducah.
City in Kentucky, United States
Paducah ( pə-DOO-kə) is a city in the Upland South and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern United States at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missouri, to the northwest and Nashville, Tennessee, to the southeast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,137, up from 25,024 in 2010. Twenty blocks of the city's downtown have been designated as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Paducah is the principal city of the Paducah metropolitan area, which includes McCracken, Ballard, Carlisle and Li…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Paducah.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Farley (C+) is closest.
| Town | KY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paducah | #101 | C | B+ | C− | B+ | D |
| Hendron | #39 | B+ | B | — | A | C+ |
| Massac | #42 | B+ | B | — | A | C+ |
| Farley | #65 | C+ | A | — | A | D− |
Hendron, Massac and Farley report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Paducah with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Paducah grades C overall, better than 27% of U.S. towns and #101 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades D for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
44 notable people were born here, including Rumer Willis and John T. Scopes.
