Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Paris gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $268K for a typical one, or 3.7 years of the Lexington metro’s $72K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 102nd of 138 in Kentucky. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 92% of the country. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 34 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Bourbon County Courthouse and Paris Cemetery Gatehouse. 24% of working residents work locally in Paris, against 15% in Kentucky’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Bourbon County Park, at 35 acres.
Where Paris beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Its founding year, 1775, comes before those of 98% of the Kentucky towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 377 in 1800, 10,171 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Paris is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Paris. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi Theme parkArk Encounter
18 mi Stadium & arenaKroger Field
16 mi Stadium & arenaRupp Arena
16 mi GardenLexington Cemetery
14 mi Park & preserveKentucky Horse Park
21 mi State parkFort Boonesborough State ParkArk Encounter: OlinEJ, CC0 · Kroger Field: Navin75, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rupp Arena: The original uploader was Analogue Kid at English Wikipedia., CC BY 2.5 · Lexington Cemetery: Analogue Kid at en.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5 · Kentucky Horse Park: Wes Blevins, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Fort Boonesborough State Park: Bubba73, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Paris, 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 Paris.
Paris trades workers with Lexington and other neighbors, is safe by national standards but not by Kentucky’s and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Kentucky.
5.8 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Paris’ trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Paris | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bourbon County Park | 0.8 mi | 35 |
| 2. Garrard City Park | — | 26 |
| 3. Bourbon County Fairgrounds | — | 21 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Bourbon County school district. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bourbon County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 555 | B− |
| Bourbon County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 764 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Paris. Paris beats the Kentucky average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 21% of adults smoke cigarettes in Paris.
| Paris | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 39% | 35% |
| What stands out | Paris | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.5% | 5.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 20.5% | 15.5% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 14.8% | 11.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 24.2°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 80% of Kentucky places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.6°.
Paris has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. About 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Paris | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 87°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Paris has about as many jobs (5,304) as working residents, but only 1,087 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Paris’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Paris grew to 5,304 in 2023, 1,195 more than in 2013. 17% of Paris residents live below the poverty line.
| Paris | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 9% | 10% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Paris home is worth about $268,000, about the same as a year ago, 16% above the Kentucky typical home. The median rent in Paris is $832 a month.
| Paris | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $832 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Kentucky.
| Paris | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.8 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 26% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.2 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 60% are women (KY 50%).
| Paris | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.8% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.3% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.7% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.9% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.8% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.9% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.2% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.4% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.3% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.3% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 12.5% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.5% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 19.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 64% of Kentucky’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
312 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 49 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 312 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Paris.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Paris; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Paris residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
8,553 counted in 2010 and 10,171 in 2020; an estimated 10,130 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 18.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
13 places in Paris on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Kentucky, United States
Paris is a home rule–class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky, and the county seat. It lies 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. It is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2020, it had a population of 10,171.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Paris grades C overall, better than 27% of U.S. towns and #102 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades D for health, B− for safety and C for schools. Health 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+.
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