City · Bourbon County, Kentucky

Paris, Kentucky

Paris is a city in Bourbon County, Kentucky, part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area. It has 10,160 residents. Paris, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 27 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,491 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #137 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on pharmacies (high), arts, entertainment and recreation (high) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), public EV charging ports (low) and comfortable days (low).

27Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,491 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #137 of 243 in KY
Population: 10,160 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 1,278.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2159196

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety49#8,034/15,637
Economy22#12,145/15,631
Housing95#714/14,977
Health9#14,164/15,609
Healthcare57#6,788/15,650
Environment48#8,095/15,453
Education15#13,296/15,649
Infrastructure11#13,998/15,650
Community19#12,664/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,762/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Paris, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Bourbon County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Pharmacies · high3.5 /10k
98/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBourbon County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high9.9 /10k
95/100Kentucky 4.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBourbon County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low105 min
94/100Kentucky 153 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBourbon County value
Rent-burdened households · low37.5%
94/100Kentucky 45.4%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Rent as share of income · low25.0%
89/100Kentucky 28.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Kentucky 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBourbon County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.5 /10k
1/100Kentucky 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBourbon County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Kentucky 2.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyBourbon County value
Comfortable days · low23.1%
8/100Kentucky 23.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBourbon County value
Adult smoking · high21.1%
9/100Kentucky 17.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Kentucky 2.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBourbon County value
Depression · high28.6%
10/100Kentucky 27.4%United States 20.7%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateImproving
33.6% (2015-2019) → 19.5% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.1% (2015-2019) → 84.7% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
16.8% (2015-2019) → 25.0% (2020-2024)
+8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
44.1% (2015-2019) → 37.5% (2020-2024)
−6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$42,550 (2015-2019) → $55,839 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
20.3% (2015-2019) → 16.9% (2020-2024)
−3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Paris, Kentucky improved on 4 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Child poverty−14 points33.6% → 19.5%
Bachelor's++8.2 points16.8% → 25.0%
Broadband+11 points74.1% → 84.7%
Household income+31%$42,550 → $55,839

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Paris, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.2 min2015-2019	24.0 min2020-2024	+2.7 min	Within the margin of error	21%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.8%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Improved	84%
Broadband subscriptions	74.1%2015-2019	84.7%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	62%
Child poverty rate	33.6%2015-2019	19.5%2020-2024	−14 points	Improved	88%
Effective property tax rate	0.89%2015-2019	0.70%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
High school diploma or higher	84.8%2015-2019	87.0%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Home price to income ratio	3.0×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	58%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4452015-2019	0.4672020-2024	+0.021	Within the margin of error	33%
Median household income	$42,5502015-2019	$55,8392020-2024	+31%	Improved	58%
Poverty rate	20.3%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Rent as share of income	26.6%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Rent-burdened households	44.1%2015-2019	37.5%2020-2024	−6.6 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Unemployment rate	5.5%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.3%2015-2019	4.5%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	67%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Paris, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Paris, Kentucky in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Paris, Kentucky itself moved +2.7 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

10,160 residents (±28)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,153 households (±236)

Paris, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k26%1,067
$25k–50k21%861
$50k–75k15%636

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,153 households (±236)

Paris, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own54%2,248
Rent46%1,905

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

4,494 workers (±315)

Paris, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone70%3,139
Carpool16%†701
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Lexington-Fayette, KY

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Bourbon County, the county holding most of Paris's residents.

Bourbon County has 382 employer establishments, 189 for every 10,000 residents (0.76× the US rate of 248; 0.91× Kentucky's), with 5,084 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,378. The Census Bureau also counts 1,445 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 382; 1,445 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 189; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 5,084
Average annual pay: $52,378; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Bourbon County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	37	18.3	0.88×About typical	174	$46,736	48
Specialty trade contractors	34	16.8	1.09×About typical	178	$55,640	153
Restaurants and other eating places	26	12.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	503	$17,412	6
Religious organizations	19	9.4	1.69×More than typical	84	$14,940	—
Limited-service restaurants	15	7.4	0.92×About typical	324	$17,475	—
Building equipment contractors	13	6.4	1.07×About typical	48	$46,792	26
Offices of other health practitioners	12	5.9	0.98×About typical	39	$49,897	22
Full-service restaurants	11	5.4	0.71×Fewer than typical	179	$17,296	—
Outpatient care centers	11	5.4	2.96×More than typical	38	$53,211	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	11	5.4	0.81×About typical	82	$26,171	129
Veterinary services	11	5.4	5.34×More than typical	85	$41,765	5
Construction of buildings	10	4.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	79	$62,430	65

Rank places for an industry Open Bourbon County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,223 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $23.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Paris, Kentucky: $2.31 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $23.4K; −14% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.31; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.1%; US 30%
Single offer: 18%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$22.4K95%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$9274.0%
Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services$1440.6%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

26.4KFY2017
-9.5KFY2018
4.2KFY2019
73.9KFY2020
40.9KFY2021
-15.6KFY2022
11.9KFY2023
15.2KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$15.1K64%
Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing · 3359$1,6987.2%
Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$1,4666.3%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$1,1845.1%
Spring and wire product manufacturing · 3326$1,0624.5%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$1,021

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Paris, Kentucky, so they do not add up across cities.

Paris, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Bourbon County, KY ($733.9K in FY2026), never added to them: 3.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Paris is mostly in Bourbon County.

See federal money in Bourbon County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Paris, Kentucky is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Andy BarrR-KY-6 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 7.1%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Bourbon County41100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Lexington-Fayette, KY78

Other cities and towns in Bourbon County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2159196

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends