Welcome to Paducah ...
The city of Paducah is located in McCracken County<1> and is the County Seat for McCracken County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Paducah, you might consider that their post office opened in 1828.
When the people of Paducah refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Paducahan<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Paducah has a population of 24,929 people<3> (see below for details).
Paducah is 370 feet [113 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Paducah lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Paducah: (270)
The ZIP codes for Paducah: 42001-42003<5>
Websites for Paducah ...
Official Website: www.ci.paducah.ky.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.paducahchamber.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Paducah had an population of 24,929 people. This is a decrease of 0.38% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 5.24% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Paducah had a population of 25,024 people (which is 38.17% of the total population of McCracken County). This makes Paducah the county's most populous community.
The population of Paducah represents 0.58% of the population of Kentucky (which has 4,339,367 people), making it the state's 13th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 25,024 people, the population of Paducah decreased 4.88% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 26,307 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Paducah.
Communities Also Named Paducah ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Paducah - they are located in Mississippi and Texas.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Paducah.
Communities near Paducah ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Paducah.
- Metropolis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metropolis
- Metropolis is located in Massac County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,885 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Metropolis <6>
- Calvert City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert City
- Calvert City is located in Marshall County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,509 people
- Calvert City has also been known as:
- Calvert
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calvert City <6>
- Kevil
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kevil have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kevil
- Kevil is located in Ballard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kevil <6>
- Joppa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joppa have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
- Joppa is located in Massac County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Joppa <6>
- Smithland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
- Smithland is located in Livingston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smithland <6>
- Hamletsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamletsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamletsburg
- Hamletsburg is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamletsburg <6>
- Unionville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Unionville is located in Massac County (IL)
- Lone Oak
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Oakdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
- Oakdale is located in McCracken County
- Krebs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krebs
- Krebs is located in McCracken County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Paducah. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Paducah.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Paducah. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Paducah.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Paducah. Our list includes 75 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Paducah.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Paducah ...
Looking for more information about Paducah? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Paducah, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Paducah.
Adding Paducah to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Paducah in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Paducah was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Paducah post office opened in 1828.
We also found Paducah in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Paducah.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Paducah: www.ci.paducah.ky.us/
The official website for McCracken County: www.co.mccracken.ky.us/
The official website for State of Kentucky: https://kentucky.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Kentucky's counties, including McCracken, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Paducah refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Paducah may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Paducah. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Paducah - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Paducah). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Paducah or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Paducah includes: 42001, 42002 & 42003. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |