Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,627. 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.
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 county seat is named for his uncle, Robert Grayson.
The original courthouse was rebuilt in 1907.
An eastâÂÂwest main line reached Carter County in when the Elizabethtown, Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad (EL&BS) completed a through route between Lexington and Ashland; the last spike was driven near Denton, where the line met the Ashland Coal & Iron Railway coming east from Ashland. The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) soon leased and then acquired the EL&BS, and the corridor became the C&O Lexington Subdivision.
The county's best-known station is the Olive Hill C&O Depot (1910), a Prairie-style brick passenger depot listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 and noted as the only surviving railroad building in Olive Hill.
A northâÂÂsouth line, the Eastern Kentucky Railway (EK), served the county seat at Grayson and connected with the EL&BS/C&O at Hitchins; the EK's operations ended during the Great Depression.
Rail spurs and sidings in Carter County handled fire clay and refractory brick, which were major local industries in the earlyâÂÂmid 20th century. Facilities included plants at Olive Hill and Hitchins.
Most of the Lexington Subdivision west of Ashland was abandoned in the mid-1980s.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water.
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 26,627. The median age was 42.6 years. 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.1 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 96.0% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.3% from some other race, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.0% of the population.
20.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 79.7% lived in rural areas.
There were 10,664 households in the county, of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 12,206 housing units, of which 12.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 75.7% were owner-occupied and 24.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.
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 . There were 11,534 housing units at an average density of . 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.
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. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul are the senators currently representing the state of Kentucky. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.
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:
Carter County is accessible by U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 64. Until 2010, the city of Olive Hill owned an airport.