Nelson County, Kentucky Population 2024

48,101

Nelson County, Kentucky's estimated 2024 population is 48,101 with a growth rate of 0.78% in the past year according to the most recent United States census data. Nelson County, Kentucky is the 21st largest county in Kentucky. The 2010 population was 43,626 and has seen a growth of 10.26% since that time.

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change
Year
Population
Growth
Change
202949,9563710.75%
202849,5853710.75%
202749,2143710.76%
202648,8433710.77%
202548,4723710.77%
202448,1013710.78%
202347,7303710.78%
202247,3592320.49%
202147,1273480.74%
202046,7795581.21%
201946,2214400.96%
201845,7811750.38%
201745,606890.2%
201645,5173980.88%
201545,1192580.58%
201444,8613200.72%
201344,5411400.32%
201244,4013410.77%
201144,0604340.99%
201043,62600%
199029,7102,1267.71%
198027,5844,10717.49%
197023,4771,3095.9%
196022,1682,64713.56%
195019,5211,5178.43%
194018,0041,4538.78%
193016,5514142.57%
192016,137-693-4.12%
191016,8302431.47%
190016,5871701.04%
189016,417-192-1.16%
188016,6091,80512.19%
187014,804-995-6.3%
186015,7991,0106.83%
185014,7891,1528.45%
184013,637-1,295-8.67%
183014,932-1,341-8.24%
182016,2732,19515.59%
181014,0784,21242.69%
18009,866-1,449-12.81%
179011,315-38,641-77.35%
2024 Growth Rate
0.78% (371)
County Website
Nelson County
County Seat
Bardstown
2020 Population
46,779
Area
419 mi²
Density
115 people/mi²
Growth Since 2020
2.83% (1,322)
Founded
November 29, 1784

Population by Race

Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White42,76290.79%
Black or African American2,4785.26%
Two or more races1,3222.81%
Other race2420.51%
Asian2360.5%
Native American620.13%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander00%

White

Black or African American

Two or more races

Other race

Asian

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Nelson County, Kentucky Population by Race

Nelson County, Kentucky Population Pyramid 2024

Nelson County, Kentucky Median Age

39.7

Total

38.7

Male

41

Female

Nelson County, Kentucky Adults

There are 36,072 adults, (7,918 of whom are seniors) in Nelson County, Kentucky.

Nelson County, Kentucky Age Dependency

67.3

Age Dependency Ratio

28.1

Old Age Dependency Ratio

39.2

Child Dependency Ratio

Nelson County, Kentucky Sex Ratio

Female23,50849.91%
Male23,59450.09%

Nelson County, Kentucky Population by Age

Nelson County, Kentucky Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All18,7872.4877.322.7
Married10,0143.0387.312.7
Non Family5,5491.1669.130.9
Female2,3302.9756.343.7
Male8943.2669.830.2

2.94

Average Family Size

2.48

Average Household Size

77.3%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Nelson County, Kentucky Households and Families

Male

Female

Education Attained
Count
Percentage
9th to 12th Grade1,8985.86%
Associates Degree4,06512.55%
Bachelors Degree4,61314.24%
Graduate Degree2,7838.59%
High School Graduate11,90436.75%
Less Than 9th Grade7272.24%
Some College6,40319.77%

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Nelson County, Kentucky Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Nelson County, Kentucky Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

Race
Total
High School
Bachelors
White29,77927,5146,754
Black1,4811,243255
2+ Races529484173
Hispanic521449167
Other Race21515138
Asian13813897
Native American484317

The highest rate of high school graduation is among asian people with a rate of 100%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 70.29%.

Nelson County, Kentucky Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

Name
Average
Male
Female
Bachelors Degree$64,115$79,575$54,913
Graduate Degree$66,792$62,243$67,083
High School Graduate$39,345$48,144$27,255
Less Than 9th Grade$31,709$37,841$19,875
Overall$45,850$53,976$40,172
Some College$45,139$56,693$40,284

$45,850

Average Earnings

$53,976

Average Male

$40,172

Average Female

Nelson County, Kentucky Earnings by Educational Attainment

Nelson County, Kentucky Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Nelson County, Kentucky Language

96.96% of Nelson County, Kentucky residents speak only English, while 3.04% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 1.69% of the population.

Nelson County, Kentucky Language

Nelson County, Kentucky Poverty by Race

rate

Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
White41,6373,6938.87%
Hispanic1,20637130.76%
Black2,45432113.08%
Multiple1,32225018.91%
Asian2364820.34%
Native624064.52%
Other242197.85%

9.71%

Overall Poverty Rate

8.82%

Male Poverty Rate

10.59%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Nelson County, Kentucky

The race most likely to be in poverty in Nelson County, Kentucky is Native, with 64.52% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Nelson County, Kentucky is Other, with 7.85% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 2.13%. Among those working part-time, it was 8.64%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 16.52%.

Nelson County, Kentucky Poverty

rate

Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade21.85%
High School10.08%
Some College6.56%
Bachelors or Greater4.17%

Nelson County, Kentucky Poverty Rate by Education

rate

Rate
Poverty
Female Unemployed34.38%
Male Unemployed23.02%
Female Employed4.5%
Male Employed2.4%

Nelson County, Kentucky Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Nelson County, Kentucky Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

Name
Median
Mean
Families$81,035$98,499
Households$67,888$85,121
Married Families$89,365$112,653
Non Families$35,280$48,185

mean

median

Income by Household Type

Nelson County, Kentucky Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

54.4%

Overall Marriage Rate

54.9%

Male Marriage Rate

53.9%

Female Marriage Rate

Nelson County, Kentucky Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Nelson County, Kentucky Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.

Nelson County, Kentucky Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Nelson County, Kentucky Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

2,871

Number of Veterans

2,561

Male Veterans

310

Female Veterans

War
Veterans
Vietnam1,012
First Gulf War674
Second Gulf War600
Korea133
World War II9

Nelson County, Kentucky Veterans by War

count

Age Group
Veterans
35 to 54806
75+774
65 to 74713
55 to 64396
18 to 34182

Nelson County, Kentucky Veterans by Age

count

Name
Veterans
% of Total
White2,6518.01%
Hispanic11714.9%
Black965.38%
2+ Races8512.2%
Other Race2210.23%
Native American1735.42%

Nelson County, Kentucky Veterans by Race

Nelson County, Kentucky Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

6.97%

Veteran Poverty Rate

28.79%

Veteran Disability Rate

Nelson County, Kentucky Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

61.9%

Labor Force Participation

59.8%

Employment Rate

3.1%

Unemployment Rate

Nelson County, Kentucky Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Nelson County, Kentucky Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Nelson County, Kentucky Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

79.71%

Born in Nelson County, Kentucky

97.8%

Native Born

2.2%

Foreign Born

1.41%

Non Citizen

0.79%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

97.8% of Nelson County, Kentucky residents were born in the United States, with 79.71% having been born in Kentucky. 1.41% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Nelson County, Kentucky Place of Birth

Sources