| Official Name: | Carrollton, Kentucky |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Motto: | "Where Rivers and People Meet" |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Pushpin Map: | Kentucky#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | Carrollton |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Carrollton in Kentucky. |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Carroll |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 5.41 |
| Area Land Km2: | 5.27 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.14 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 2.09 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 2.04 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.05 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 3890 |
| Population Density Km2: | 737.79 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1910.61 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation Ft: | 482 |
| Coordinates: | 38.68°N -85.1658°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 41008, 41045 |
| Area Code: | 502 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 21-13024 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2403999 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2022 |
| Pop Est Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Est: | 3909 |
Carrollton is a home rule-class city[3] in—and the county seat of—Carroll County, Kentucky, United States,[4] at the confluence of the Ohio and Kentucky rivers. The population was 3,938 at the 2010 census.[5]
Carrollton is located in northern Carroll County. The city is situated on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Kentucky River. It is bordered by the city of Prestonville to the west across the Kentucky River. To the north, across the Ohio River, is Switzerland County, Indiana.
U.S. Route 42 passes through the center of the community, leading northeast to Cincinnati, Ohio, and southwest to Louisville. Interstate 71 runs 4miles south of the city roughly parallel to US 42, with access from Exit 44.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.3km2, of which 0.02km2, or 0.42%, is water.[5]
Carrollton was laid out in 1792,[6] and it was known as Port William initially. It served as the county seat of Gallatin County until 1838 when the county was split, creating Carroll County. Port William was renamed Carrollton after Declaration of Independence signer Charles Carroll and became the seat of the new county. The town's first newspaper, the Carrollton Eagle, was published in 1848. On September 3, 1863, during the Civil War, Confederates robbed the Southern Bank of Kentucky and were followed by the Union Army. Confederates also stole the sword of prominent resident William Orlando Butler, and he later caught up with the troops and retrieved it. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad was built near town in 1868 and eventually became more important to the town's economy than river traffic. It did cause a spike in agricultural production, especially tobacco.[7]
Carrollton's most severe flood was the Ohio River flood of 1937; floodwaters crested at .[8]
It has one of the state's largest tobacco markets, and the population has remained steady since being recorded at 3,884 in the 1970 census. In 1988, the Carrollton bus disaster garnered national attention for what was one of the worst bus collisions in United States history.
As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 3,846 people, 1,598 households, and 987 families residing in the city. The population density was 1715.4sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 1,709 housing units at an average density of 762.3sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the city was 78.99% White, 2.24% Black, 0.13% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 2.03% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.42% of the population.
There were 1,598 households, out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,818, and the median income for a family was $41,193. Males had a median income of $32,563 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,376. About 13.9% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.5% of those under age 18 and 26.2% of those age 65 or over.
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Carrollton has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. [10]
Carrollton has a lending library, the Carroll County Public Library.[11]
Jefferson Community & Technical College
The town of Hargrave, Kentucky in the fiction of Wendell Berry is a fictionalized version of Carrollton.[12] Berry uses Carrollton's original name, Port William, as the name for the town in which most of his stories take place. Berry portrays Hargrave as significantly larger and more urban than Port William (a fictionalized Port Royal, Kentucky). It is the center of local nightlife and professional services. Unlike the largely egalitarian rural society of Port William, there is an "upper crust" of professionals and landowners in Hargrave.