Carter County, Kentucky Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Carter County
U.S. county
Carter County courthouse in Grayson
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	1838
Named for	William Grayson Carter
Seat	Grayson
Largest city	Grayson
Area
• Total	412 sq mi (1,070 km²)
• Land	409 sq mi (1,060 km²)
• Water	2.6 sq mi (7 km²) 0.6%%
Population (2020)
• Total	26,627
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th

Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,720. Its county seat is Grayson. Carter County is in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Carter Caves State Resort Park.

History
Geography
- Adjacent counties
Demographics
Communities
Transportation
Education
See also

History

Carter County was formed on February 9, 1838 from portions of Greenup County and Lawrence County. It was named after Colonel William Grayson Carter, a Kentucky state Senator.

The original courthouse was rebuilt in 1907.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 412 square miles (1,070 km²), of which 409 square miles (1,060 km²) is land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²) (0.6%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Greenup County (northeast)
Boyd County (east)
Lawrence County (southeast)
Elliott County (south)
Rowan County (southwest)
Lewis County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1840	2,905	—
1850	6,241	114.8%
1860	8,516	36.5%
1870	7,509	−11.8%
1880	12,345	64.4%
1890	17,204	39.4%
1900	20,228	17.6%
1910	21,966	8.6%
1920	22,474	2.3%
1930	23,839	6.1%
1940	25,545	7.2%
1950	22,559	−11.7%
1960	20,817	−7.7%
1970	19,850	−4.6%
1980	25,060	26.2%
1990	24,340	−2.9%
2000	26,889	10.5%
2010	27,720	3.1%
2020	26,627	−3.9%
2021 (est.)	26,412	−4.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2021

As of the census of 2000, there were 26,889 people, 10,342 households, and 7,746 families residing in the county. The population density was 66 per square mile (25/km²). There were 11,534 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 99.02% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. 0.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 10,342 households, out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.10% were non-families. 22.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.50% under the age of 18, 10.80% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,427, and the median income for a family was $31,278. Males had a median income of $28,690 versus $20,554 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,442. About 19.20% of families and 22.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.90% of those under age 18 and 21.30% of those age 65 or over.