Greater Louisville is seeing positive momentum in its economy, according to the 2025 Regional Economic Dashboard from Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI). The dashboard tracks the Metropolitan Statistical Area’s progress in 28 categories, covering population growth, talent, the economy, labor market, and livability.
This year’s update shows particularly strong performance in job growth, affordability, and earnings relative to the cost of living, while highlighting ongoing challenges such as slower population growth, lower educational attainment, and higher property crime compared to similar cities.
“Data is critical to informing all businesses decisions, especially for site consultants and businesses considering relocating or expanding. This dashboard gives a transparent look at where Greater Louisville excels and needs work compared to our peers,” said Clark Welch, Vice President of Economic Development for Greater Louisville Inc. “Equally as important, this data serves as a way for us to benchmark ourselves annually and make sure we are continuing to keep pace in the areas that drive economic growth.”
Key Trends from the 2025 Dashboard:
- Greater Louisville’s job growth in 2025 has moved up one spot from 2024, surpassing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
- Greater Louisville’s job change percentage increased 11% from 2020 to 2025, a significant jump from a 4% increase from 2019 to 2024.
- Greater Louisville continues to see steady population growth, but remains middle of the pack compared to peer regions in this area.
- Greater Louisville’s average household earnings compared to cost of living is strong compared to many peers.
- In three core economic indicators – Gross Regional Product, Imports, Exports – Greater Louisville moved up one spot from 2024.
- Greater Louisville’s violent crime rates decreased and moved the region up the rankings two spots, however the region dropped one spot in property crime.
“Tracking our region’s progress in core indicators of economic growth year over year allows us to identify areas where we are falling behind peer regions and need to act. It also allows us to identify our strengths as a region and use that to strategically attract more businesses and people here,” said Camilla Schroeder, Chair of GLI’s Board of Directors and President of Advance Ready Mix Concrete.
To view the full dashboard and a downloadable spreadsheet with data for all regions in all 28 categories, click here.
This article appears in Dec. 1-31, 2025.