Carter County, Kentucky

Carter County
Carter County
County
	Carter County courthouse in Grayson
	Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
	Kentucky's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 38°20′N 83°03′W / 38.33°N 83.05°W
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
• Estimate (2023)	26,366
• Density	65/sq mi (25/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	4th, 5th
Website	cartercounty.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,627.^[1] Its county seat is Grayson.^[2] Carter County is in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Carter Caves State Resort Park.

History

Carter County was formed on February 9, 1838, from portions of Greenup County and Lawrence County.^[3] It was named after Colonel William Grayson Carter, a Kentucky state Senator.^[4] The county seat is named for his uncle, Robert Grayson.^[5]

The original courthouse was rebuilt in 1907.^[6]

Geography

According to the United States 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.^[7]

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.	Note	%±
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%
2023 (est.)	26,366	^[8]	−1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census^[9] 1790-1960^[10] 1900-1990^[11] 1990-2000^[12] 2010-2021^[1]

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.

Politics

Carter County leaned increasingly Republican during the 2010s, with Donald Trump dramatically shifting it to the right in 2016. In 8 out of 28 presidential elections since 1912 has the Democratic candidate carried this county, even though they carried it three times in a row from 1988 to 1996.

United States presidential election results for Carter County, Kentucky^[13]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	8,981	78.63%	2,305	20.18%	136	1.19%
2020	8,775	75.74%	2,642	22.80%	169	1.46%
2016	7,587	73.82%	2,276	22.14%	415	4.04%
2012	5,279	59.26%	3,383	37.98%	246	2.76%
2008	5,252	53.52%	4,316	43.98%	245	2.50%
2004	5,422	48.77%	5,577	50.17%	118	1.06%
2000	4,617	51.53%	4,182	46.68%	160	1.79%
1996	3,240	41.69%	3,728	47.97%	803	10.33%
1992	3,305	38.61%	4,224	49.35%	1,031	12.04%
1988	4,325	48.36%	4,570	51.10%	49	0.55%
1984	4,656	53.67%	3,985	45.94%	34	0.39%
1980	3,934	50.18%	3,782	48.25%	123	1.57%
1976	3,185	44.65%	3,915	54.89%	33	0.46%
1972	4,082	60.68%	2,591	38.52%	54	0.80%
1968	3,234	49.67%	2,344	36.00%	933	14.33%
1964	2,821	40.37%	4,136	59.20%	30	0.43%
1960	4,956	58.76%	3,479	41.24%	0	0.00%
1956	5,127	62.09%	3,112	37.68%	19	0.23%
1952	4,221	58.12%	3,019	41.57%	22	0.30%
1948	3,472	52.61%	3,082	46.70%	46	0.70%
1944	4,117	60.01%	2,733	39.84%	10	0.15%
1940	4,520	56.88%	3,403	42.83%	23	0.29%
1936	4,372	55.98%	3,403	43.57%	35	0.45%
1932	4,376	48.51%	4,565	50.61%	79	0.88%
1928	5,342	68.73%	2,392	30.77%	39	0.50%
1924	4,472	61.50%	2,552	35.10%	247	3.40%
1920	4,595	61.98%	2,757	37.19%	62	0.84%
1916	2,818	58.48%	1,954	40.55%	47	0.98%
1912	1,174	28.64%	1,506	36.74%	1,419	34.62%

Education

Carter County School District
Kentucky Christian University, located in Grayson

Alcohol sales

Carter County is a moist county, meaning that sale of alcohol in the county is prohibited except in certain areas as voted on by the residents of the area, with at least one area approving full retail alcohol sales. In the case of Carter County, alcohol sales are only permitted as follows:

At a single approved winery in the Iron Hill precinct, near the unincorporated community of Carter City.
Within the city of Grayson after a vote on June 11, 2013, approved full retail alcohol sales within the city limits by a vote of 511 in favor of alcohol sales to 393 against.^[14]^[15]^[16]
Within the city of Olive Hill after a vote on March 10, 2014, approved full retail alcohol sales within the city limits by a vote of 257 in favor of alcohol sales to 206 against.^[17]