Parcel Chartplaces Open the free map

County · code 21043

Carter CountyKentucky

Carter County is a county in Kentucky formed in 1838. Its county seat is Grayson.

  • Founded1838
  • County seatGrayson
  • Named forWilliam Grayson Carter
  • Land area410 sq mi + 2.6 sq mi water
  • Population26,627 2020 Census
Open the free map Click any parcel in Carter County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

ElliottGreenupBoydRowanLewisLawrence Grayson Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Carter on the map of Kentucky

Kentucky has 120 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Adair CountyAllen CountyAnderson CountyBallard CountyBarren CountyBath CountyBell CountyBoone CountyBourbon CountyBoyd CountyBoyle CountyBracken CountyBreathitt CountyBreckinridge CountyBullitt CountyButler CountyCaldwell CountyCalloway CountyCampbell CountyCarlisle CountyCarroll CountyCasey CountyChristian CountyClark CountyClay CountyClinton CountyCrittenden CountyCumberland CountyDaviess CountyEdmonson CountyElliott CountyEstill CountyFayette CountyFleming CountyFloyd CountyFranklin CountyFulton CountyGallatin CountyGarrard CountyGrant CountyGraves CountyGrayson CountyGreen CountyGreenup CountyHancock CountyHardin CountyHarlan CountyHarrison CountyHart CountyHenderson CountyHenry CountyHickman CountyHopkins CountyJackson CountyJefferson CountyJessamine CountyJohnson CountyKenton CountyKnott CountyKnox CountyLarue CountyLaurel CountyLawrence CountyLee CountyLeslie CountyLetcher CountyLewis CountyLincoln CountyLivingston CountyLogan CountyLyon CountyMcCracken CountyMcCreary CountyMcLean CountyMadison CountyMagoffin CountyMarion CountyMarshall CountyMartin CountyMason CountyMeade CountyMenifee CountyMercer CountyMetcalfe CountyMonroe CountyMontgomery CountyMorgan CountyMuhlenberg CountyNelson CountyNicholas CountyOhio CountyOldham CountyOwen CountyOwsley CountyPendleton CountyPerry CountyPike CountyPowell CountyPulaski CountyRobertson CountyRockcastle CountyRowan CountyRussell CountyScott CountyShelby CountySimpson CountySpencer CountyTaylor CountyTodd CountyTrigg CountyTrimble CountyUnion CountyWarren CountyWashington CountyWayne CountyWebster CountyWhitley CountyWolfe CountyWoodford CountyCarter County Carter
Counties of Kentucky · Carter highlighted

History

Formed in 1838 from Greenup County and Lawrence County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Carter County was created from Greenup and Lawrence counties on May 1, 1838. The county was named after William Grayson Carter. Over the following decades, Carter County experienced numerous boundary adjustments, losing land to the creation of Boyd County in 1860, Elliott County in 1869, and Beckham County in 1904, while also gaining and losing small areas through exchanges and transfers with neighboring counties including Greenup, Rowan, and Lewis.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

  1. 1838
    Carter County created Carter created from Greenup and Lawrence.
    from Greenupfrom Lawrence
    · Ky. Acts 1837-1838, ch. 760, sec. 1/p. 162-164
  2. 1860
    Lost territory Carter lost to creation of Boyd.
    to Boyd
    · Ky. Acts 1859-1860, vol. 1, ch. 288, sec. 1/pp. 32-35
  3. 1862
    Gained territory Carter gained from Greenup.
    from Greenup
    · Ky. Acts 1862, Feb. adj. sess., ch. 555, sec. 1/p. 77
  4. 1865
    Exchanged territory Carter exchanged with Greenup (act repealed 3 June 1865).
    with Greenup
    · Ky. Acts 1865, Jan. adj. sess., ch. 946, sec. 1/pp. 42-43
  5. 1865
    Exchanged territory Carter exchanged with Greenup (repealed act of 22 February 1865).
    with Greenup
    · Ky. Acts 1865, Jan. adj. sess., ch. 1699, sec. 1/p. 549
Show all 13 changes (8 more, mostly small adjustments)
  1. 1838
    Carter County created Carter created from Greenup and Lawrence.
    from Greenupfrom Lawrence
    · Ky. Acts 1837-1838, ch. 760, sec. 1/p. 162-164
  2. 1860
    Lost territory Carter lost to creation of Boyd.
    to Boyd
    · Ky. Acts 1859-1860, vol. 1, ch. 288, sec. 1/pp. 32-35
  3. 1861
    Lost territory Carter lost small area to Rowan to accommodate local property owner.
    to Rowan
    · Ky. Acts 1861, Sep. called sess., ch. 24, sec. 1/p. 1
  4. 1862
    Gained territory Carter gained from Greenup.
    from Greenup
    · Ky. Acts 1862, Feb. adj. sess., ch. 555, sec. 1/p. 77
  5. 1865
    Exchanged territory Carter exchanged with Greenup (act repealed 3 June 1865).
    with Greenup
    · Ky. Acts 1865, Jan. adj. sess., ch. 946, sec. 1/pp. 42-43
  6. 1865
    Exchanged territory Carter exchanged with Greenup (repealed act of 22 February 1865).
    with Greenup
    · Ky. Acts 1865, Jan. adj. sess., ch. 1699, sec. 1/p. 549
  7. 1868
    Lost territory Carter lost small area to Lewis to accommodate local property owners (later repealed).
    to Lewis
    · Ky. Acts 1867-1868, vol. 2, ch. 1195, sec. 1/p. 622
  8. 1869
    Lost territory Carter lost to creation of Elliott.
    to Elliott
    · Ky. Acts 1869, Jan. adj. sess., ch. 1297, sec. 1/pp. 69-73
  9. 1871
    Gained territory Carter gained small area from Lewis (repealed act of 9 March 1868).
    from Lewis
    · Ky. Acts 1871, Jan. adj. sess., ch. 1672, sec. 1/p. 69
  10. 1880
    Gained territory Carter gained small area from Elliott to accommodate local property owner.
    from Elliott
    · Ky. Acts 1879-1880, vol. 1, ch. 636, sec. 1/p. 652
  11. 1882
    Lost territory Carter lost small area to Rowan to accommodate local property owner.
    to Rowan
    · Ky. Acts 1881-1882, vol. 2, ch. 1253, sec. 1/p. 769
  12. 1904
    Lost territory Carter lost to creation of Beckham (extinct).
    to Beckham
    · Ky. Acts 1904, ch. 5, sec. 1/pp. 27-30
  13. 1904
    Gained territory Carter gained from Beckham (extinct) when creation of Beckham was overturned by court decision on constitutional grounds; Beckham eliminated.
    from Beckham
    · Correspondence, Kentucky Historical Society, October 1991

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Carter

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Carter by the Census

Population
26,627 2020 Census count
Housing units
12,206 2020 Census count
Land area
410 square miles
Water area
2.6 square miles
People per sq mi
65 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Carter County's official site

We have found the county's site but not its offices yet; start there.

County government

See your own lot on these maps

Open Carter County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

Open the free map no sign-in Pro early access

Questions

Common questions about Carter County

When was Carter County founded?
Carter County was founded in 1838, formed from Greenup County and Lawrence County, and named after William Grayson Carter.
What is the county seat of Carter County?
The county seat of Carter County is Grayson.
Is there an online parcel map for Carter County?
Not that we have found yet. Lot lines and owners of record are kept by the county assessor's office. When a public parcel map appears, it shows here.
Has Carter County's boundary or name changed?
Carter County was created in 1838 from Greenup County and Lawrence County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 12 later changes, chiefly involving Greenup County, Beckham County and Elliott County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Carter County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door