Founded 1788 Largest city Maysville Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4 Area 637.1 km² Named for George Mason Cities Maysville, Dover | Seat Maysville Congressional district 4th Website masoncountykentucky.us Population 17,278 (2013) Unemployment rate 5.4% (Apr 2015) | |
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University Maysville Community and Technical College Points of interest Ohio River, Kentucky Gateway Museum, National Underground Railroad, Maysville River Park | ||
Mason County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,490. Its county seat is Maysville. The county was created from Bourbon County, Virginia in 1788 and named for George Mason, a Virginia delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention, known as the "Father of the Bill of Rights".
Contents
- Map of Mason County KY USA
- Geography
- Adjacent counties
- Demographics
- Cities
- Census designated place
- Notable residents
- References
Map of Mason County, KY, USA
Mason County comprises the Maysville, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN Combined Statistical Area.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 246 square miles (640 km2), of which 240 square miles (620 km2) is land and 6.3 square miles (16 km2) (2.6%) is water. The county's northern border with Ohio is formed by the Ohio River.
Adjacent counties
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,800 people, 6,847 households, and 4,697 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 per square mile (27/km2). There were 7,754 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (12/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 90.88% White, 7.16% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.57% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 6,847 households out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.20% were married couples living together, 11.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.40% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county, the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,195, and the median income for a family was $37,257. Males had a median income of $30,718 versus $21,216 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,589. About 12.90% of families and 16.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.60% of those under age 18 and 13.70% of those age 65 or over.