Ballard County, Kentucky

Ballard County is a located in the  of. It was formed in 1842. As of, the population is 8,286. Its is. The county is named for, a member of the Kentucky General Assembly. Ballard is a prohibition or.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 709 (274 ). 650 km² (251 sq mi) of it is land and 58 km² (22 sq mi) of it (8.20%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north) – across the
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (southwest) – across the
 * (west) – across the Ohio River

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 8,286 people, 3,395 households, and 2,413 families residing in the county. The was 13/km² (33/sq mi). There were 3,837 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (15/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 95.32%, 2.87% or , 0.08% , 0.18% , 0.02% , 0.08% from , and 1.44% from two or more races. 0.63% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 3,395 households out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.60% were living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.10% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,130, and the median income for a family was $41,386. Males had a median income of $32,345 versus $20,902 for females. The for the county was $19,035. About 10.70% of families and 13.60% of the population were below the, including 19.30% of those under age 18 and 15.40% of those age 65 or over.

Axe Lake Swamp State Nature Preserve
is a 458 acres located in Ballard County. The preserve is part of the 3,000-acre Axe Lake Swamp complex which supports at least eight rare plant and animal species. The site has been recognized as a priority wetland in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.