McCracken County, Kentucky

McCracken County is a located in the, the extreme western end of the  of. As of 2000, the population was 65,514. The and largest city is.

History
There is some dispute about the naming of the city. According to one popular story, Paducah was named after. Many historians dispute the existence of Chief Paduke, however; they note that Paducah is similar to the word that the, who lived in the region at the time of European settlement, used to refer to themselves. McCracken County was formed in 1825, from Hickman County. The county was named for Captain Virgil McCracken of Woodford County, Ky., who was killed in the Battle of the River Raisin near Detroit, Michigan during the War of 1812.

Law and Government
McCracken County is represented congressionally as of the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 694 (268 ). 650 km² (251 sq mi) of it is land and 44 km² (17 sq mi) of it (6.36%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north, across the )
 * (northeast, across the )
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 65,514 people, 27,736 households, and 18,444 families residing in the county. The was 101/km² (261/sq mi). There were 30,361 housing units at an average density of 47/km² (121/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 86.76%, 10.88% or , 0.22% , 0.51% , 0.05% , 0.40% from , and 1.18% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 27,736 households out of which 29.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.10% were living together, 12.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 29.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.86.

The age distribution was 23.40% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,865, and the median income for a family was $42,513. Males had a median income of $36,417 versus $22,704 for females. The for the county was $19,533. About 11.40% of families and 15.10% of the population were below the, including 21.90% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

 * † These unincorporated communities are.

Education
Public elementary and secondary education in the county is provided by two s:
 * , which serves the entire county except for the bulk of the city of Paducah, served by:

Several private schools also provide K-12 education.

Higher education is provided by in Paducah, part of the. Like all other schools in this system, WKCTC offers s. The state's largest public university, the, operates a branch campus of its College of Engineering at WKCTC. The Paducah Regional Campus of located on the city's south side,  offers several  and  programs. The American Justice School of Law began operation in Paducah in 2005. This private institution offers the degree. operates its completion program in Paducah. Private /Paducah Technical College offers several technical degree programs.