Paducah, KY Crime Map

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions: Paducah, KY Crime & Safety

Is Paducah, KY safe?

By the numbers, Paducah earns a city-wide safety rating of B (Safe) and an overall crime grade of C — a combination that reflects a city where the majority of neighborhoods are genuinely low-crime, even if a handful of areas pull the citywide average down. Across the 49 neighborhoods analyzed, 78% fall into the A or B safety tier, meaning roughly four out of every five Paducah neighborhoods qualify as safe or very safe. Only 4% of neighborhoods — 2 out of 49 — carry a D grade, and not a single neighborhood received an F. For context, areas like The Grove (A+), Valley Road (A+), Woodlawn (A+), Deer Lick Place (A+), and Heather Hills (A+) represent the upper tier, while Uppertown (C-) and Walter Jetton (C) are the neighborhoods where residents and visitors should exercise a bit more situational awareness. On balance, Paducah compares favorably to similarly sized U.S. cities.

What is the crime rate in Paducah?

Paducah's crime picture is best understood through its grade distribution across 49 analyzed neighborhoods. 23 neighborhoods (46.9%) earned an A grade, and 15 neighborhoods (30.6%) earned a B grade — together accounting for 78% of the city. An additional 9 neighborhoods (18.4%) sit at a C grade, indicating moderate but not alarming activity. Only 2 neighborhoods (4.1%) reached a D grade, and the city recorded zero F-grade neighborhoods. The highest-crime areas identified in the data are Uppertown (C-) and Walter Jetton (C), while neighborhoods like Cruse, Glendale, and Jefferson Street each hold a B- grade — elevated relative to the city's safest pockets, but still within the broadly safe range. Paducah's 21.8% poverty rate and $39,061 median household income provide economic context for understanding where crime concentrations tend to emerge.

What are the safest neighborhoods in Paducah?

Ten neighborhoods stand out at the top of Paducah's safety rankings. The eight neighborhoods holding an A+ grade are: The Grove (median income: $110,001), Valley Road ($94,822), Woodlawn ($94,826), Deer Lick Place ($96,337), Heather Hills ($87,545), Pines ($80,845), Conrad Heights ($80,842), and Fairfield ($80,762). Wallace Park also holds an A+ grade with a population of 1,108 — making it the largest A+ neighborhood in the city — and Stinespring earns a solid A grade with the highest median income in the dataset at $118,571. A clear pattern emerges: every A+ neighborhood carries a median household income well above the city median of $39,061, ranging from roughly $76,000 to $110,000. Families and individuals prioritizing safety will find the strongest options concentrated in these areas.

Which areas of Paducah have higher crime?

Within Paducah's 49-neighborhood dataset, the areas with the most elevated crime grades are Uppertown (C-) and Walter Jetton (C) — the only two neighborhoods in the D-or-below tier are not named in the public data, but together they represent just 4.1% of analyzed neighborhoods. Below the A/B threshold, Cruse, Glendale, and Jefferson Street each carry a B- grade, placing them in a moderate category that warrants awareness but not alarm. The 9 neighborhoods graded C (18.4% of the city) are worth monitoring, particularly for property-related concerns common in small cities with higher poverty concentrations. Importantly, no neighborhood in Paducah received an F grade, which distinguishes it from many peer cities and suggests that even its higher-crime pockets remain within a manageable range.

Is Paducah a good place to live?

Paducah offers a compelling value proposition backed by concrete data. The city's median home value of $114,422 and median rent of $695 make it one of the more affordable small cities in the region, and a 3% unemployment rate signals a relatively stable local labor market. From a safety standpoint, 78% of Paducah's neighborhoods grade A or B, giving prospective residents a strong statistical likelihood of landing in a safe area. The 21.8% poverty rate is a genuine economic challenge and correlates with the crime concentrations seen in areas like Uppertown and Walter Jetton, so neighborhood selection matters. Households with higher budgets will find that neighborhoods such as Stinespring (median income: $118,571, grade: A) and The Grove (median income: $110,001, grade: A+) combine safety and relative affluence. With 46.9% of neighborhoods graded A and zero F-grade areas across all 49 neighborhoods analyzed, Paducah's safety profile supports a positive quality-of-life assessment for most residents.

How does Paducah's neighborhood safety vary by income?

The correlation between income and safety grades is pronounced in Paducah's data. Every A+ neighborhood carries a median household income between $76,180 (Wallace Park) and $110,001 (The Grove) — all substantially above the city median of $39,061. Stinespring, the city's highest-income neighborhood at $118,571, holds an A grade. By contrast, the neighborhoods with C and C- grades — including Walter Jetton and Uppertown — tend to align with lower income concentrations. This pattern is consistent with national research linking economic disadvantage to higher property and violent crime rates. For homebuyers and renters using the Paducah crime map, cross-referencing a neighborhood's safety grade with its median income provides a useful dual lens: the 23 A-grade neighborhoods (46.9%) and 15 B-grade neighborhoods (30.6%) collectively cover the vast majority of the city's safer, more economically stable residential areas.