Carroll County, Kentucky

Carroll County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Carrollton.^[1] The county was formed in 1838 and named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence.^[2] It is located at the confluence of the Kentucky and Ohio Rivers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 137 square miles (350 km²), of which 129 square miles (330 km²) is land and 8.7 square miles (23 km²) (6.4%) is water.^[3] It is the third-smallest county by area in Kentucky.

• Jefferson County, Indiana (northwest)
• Switzerland County, Indiana (north)
• Gallatin County (east)
• Owen County (southeast)
• Henry County (south)
• Trimble County (west)

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 10,810. The median age was 38.9 years. 25.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.8 males age 18 and over.^[10][11]

The racial makeup of the county was 88.5% White, 1.7% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.9% from some other race, and 6.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.4% of the population.^[11]

50.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 49.4% lived in rural areas.^[12]

There were 4,090 households in the county, of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[10]

There were 4,658 housing units, of which 12.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 61.2% were owner-occupied and 38.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.8%.^[10]

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 10,155 people, 3,940 households, and 2,722 families residing in the county. The population density was 78 per square mile (30/km²). There were 4,439 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.16% White, 1.94% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.42% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 3.25% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,940 households, out of which 33.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.40% were married couples living together, 11.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 25.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 23.20% 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 101.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,925, and the median income for a family was $44,037. Males had a median income of $33,588 versus $20,974 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,057. About 10.40% of families and 14.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.80% of those under age 18 and 21.60% of those age 65 or over.

• Carrollton (county seat)
• Ghent
• Prestonville
• Sanders
• Worthville

• English

In 2023, Carroll County Sheriff's Office hired Myles Cosgrove, a police officer who killed Breonna Taylor in 2020 and was subsequently fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department. The Sheriff's Office said it performed a background check on Cosgrove which he passed.^[14]

Carroll County was strongly pro-Confederate during the Civil War: only 2.70 percent of its white population volunteered to serve in the Union Army, which constitutes the fourteenth-lowest of 109 counties extant as of the 1860 election, and was indeed lower than for the whole of seceded Tennessee.^[16] Consequently, Carroll County remained overwhelmingly Democratic for the next century and a quarter, being the only Kentucky county outside the heavily unionized coalfields to vote for George McGovern in 1972. The first Republican to carry Carroll County was Ronald Reagan in 1984, and the growing social liberalism of the Democratic Party has meant the county has voted increasingly Republican since the turn of the century,^[17] although Hillary Clinton's 28.69 percent – even if over fifteen percent worse than any previous Democrat – was still as good as she received in any rural white southern county.

In gubernatorial elections, Carroll remained solidly Democratic for a long time, with no Republican gubernatorial candidate ever carrying the county until 2019, when it voted for Matt Bevin.

The county voted "No" on 2022 Kentucky Amendment 2, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 54% to 46%, and backed Donald Trump with 71% of the vote to Joe Biden's 27% in the 2020 presidential election.^[18]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Carroll County, Kentucky

• Carroll County Chamber of Commerce website
• Carroll County Government Site

38°40′N 85°08′W / 38.67°N 85.13°W / 38.67; -85.13