County Maps US

Nelson County, Kentucky

A county in Kentucky, ranked 21 of 120 by population.

CountyFIPS 21179

Within Kentucky
Nelson County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Bardstown, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
49,036
+2,251 (+4.8%) since 2020
Land area
418.7
square miles. A further 1.3% of the total area is water
Population density
117
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Bardstown
Seat of county government.
Established
1784
241 years ago
Largest city
Bardstown city
Population 14,161.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Nelson County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Nelson County, Kentucky from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 799 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Nelson County ranks

Position among the 120 counties of Kentucky, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn KentuckyNationally
Population49,03621st of 1201,026th of 3,144
Land area418.7 sq mi28th of 1202,419th of 3,144
Population density117 per sq mi24th of 120810th of 3,144
Median household income$69,56214th of 1201,232nd of 3,143

Full data for Nelson County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population49,036Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202046,785Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?46,732Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area418.7 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area5.4 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area424.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?117 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$69,562American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$238,000American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age39.5American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households19,150American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units20,330American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
+39
570 births, 531 deaths
Net migration
+384
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 7 areas bordering Nelson County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Larue CountyKentucky43 mi15,184
Washington CountyKentucky40 mi12,368
Bullitt CountyKentucky28 mi86,454
Spencer CountyKentucky19 mi20,998
Marion CountyKentucky14 mi20,115
Hardin CountyKentucky13 mi113,482
Anderson CountyKentucky5.2 mi25,225

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 120 counties of Kentucky

Open the interactive Kentucky county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.