Axmarany Paniagua wants something more for her kids.
She wants them to grow up in a peaceful community, where strangers still stop to help when they see someone in trouble. She wants to be surrounded by parents who prioritize their children’s education and feel a sense of community she’s missing in the south Louisville neighborhood where she now lives.
She hasn’t had to look far to find what she wants. Last year, Paniagua and her fiancé began building a home in Crestwood, a city of about 6,000 in nearby Oldham County, where she’s already enrolled her 4-year-old son in preschool.
“We knew we wanted to do this for a long time,” she said. “… Once we saw an opportunity, we jumped on it and didn’t even think twice about it, and it’s been a great decision.”
Paniagua isn’t the only one making such a choice. Since 2020, Louisville has been losing residents, while surrounding counties’ populations have grown — a trend some say is troubling as the city seeks to attract more businesses and talent.
New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show a 1.4% decline — just under 11,000 people — in Jefferson County’s population between April 2020 and July 2023. And while the number might seem small, it represents a sizeable dent when considering the county added about 42,000 people between 2010 and 2020.