Jefferson County, Kentucky

Jefferson County is a located in the  of. It was formed in 1780. As of 2000, the population was 693,604. As of 2006, the population estimate recorded by the is 701,500.

History
Jefferson County was organized in 1780 and one of the first three counties formed out of the original, which was still part of at the time (the other two being  and ). The county is named for, who was governor of at the time.

The last major American Indian raid in present day Jefferson County was the on,.

In 2003, its government merged with that of its largest city and county seat,, forming a new entity, the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government (the official long form) or simply Louisville Metro (the official short form).

Prior to this merger, the head of local government was the, a post that still exists but now has few powers. The current incumbent is. Local government is effectively now led by the,.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,032 (399 ). 997 km² (385 sq mi) of it is land and 35 km² (13 sq mi) of it (3.38%) is water. The forms its northern boundary with the state of.

The highest point is South Park Hill, elevation 902', located in the southern part of the county. The lowest point is 383' along the Ohio River just north of.

Adjacent counties

 * (north, across the )
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west, across the Ohio River)
 * (northwest, across the Ohio River)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the county. The was 695/km² (1,801/sq mi). There were 305,835 housing units at an average density of 307/km² (794/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 77.38%, 18.88% or , 0.22% , 1.39% , 0.04% , 0.68% from , and 1.42% from two or more races. 1.78% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 287,012 households out of which 29.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.20% were living together, 14.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.20% were non-families. 30.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.30% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,457, and the median income for a family was $49,161. Males had a median income of $36,484 versus $26,255 for females. The for the county was $22,352. About 9.50% of families and 12.40% of the population were below the, including 18.10% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities, towns and census-designated places
NOTE: Since the formation of Louisville Metro on, , residents of the cities below also became citizens of the newly expanded Metro, but none of the incorporated places have dissolved in the process. The functions formerly served by the county government for the town were assumed by Louisville Metro. However, the former City of Louisville was effectively absorbed into the new city-county government.


 * † formerly a in the county, however, in 2003, these places became neighborhoods within the city limits of Louisville Metro.