Groundwork

Real estate · County · Kentucky

Real estate businesses in Barren County, KY

The real estate businesses in Barren County, KY, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #628 of 2,229 scored counties
#29 of 75 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
34
3 chain locations (9%)
Official establishments
7
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$238.6M
On rent and homeowner costs · $13,241 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
162
62% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
18.9
51% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
45,641
+2.6% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Barren County

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Barren County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Barren County comes to about $238.6M a year: $13,241 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 62% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.

There are 34 real estate businesses on map listings in Barren County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 9% of them, against 6% across the U.S. That is 18.9 per 10,000 households, 51% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Barren County was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 2,574 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 104 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Barren County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in Barren County is 59 (upper middle), #628 of 2,229 scored counties and #29 of 75 scored counties in Kentucky.

How Barren County compares

The same measures for Kentucky and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Barren County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureBarren CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households18.927.438.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)162120100
Households per official establishment2,574683414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+20.5%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.6%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$13,241$14,283$16,661
Median household income$50,628$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score5960

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6 → 7
Employees, 2023
33
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
104Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
343 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
55The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Barren County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Barren County

Population, 2025 estimate
45,641+2.6% since 2020
Households
18,017
Median age
40.1
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
487 sq. mi.
People per square mile
92
Median household income
$50,628+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$73,460
Median home value
$178,000
Jobs located here
15,309
Daytime population
41,898Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Barren County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Barren County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Barren County marked.

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Harrison County, KY80811.0300+4.9%#24 of 2,229
2Spencer County, KY801216.4233+7.7%#28 of 2,229
3Lincoln County, KY7699.3328+4.6%#84 of 2,229
4Grant County, KY7377.6429+4.7%#136 of 2,229
5Hart County, KY72810.8278+4.3%#161 of 2,229
6Woodford County, KY701816.6218+3.7%#210 of 2,229
7Nelson County, KY703015.7213+4.8%#211 of 2,229
8Anderson County, KY701818.6182+5.5%#216 of 2,229
9Meade County, KY681715.4225+2.2%#273 of 2,229
10Mercer County, KY671314.2230+4.8%#301 of 2,229
29Barren County, KY593418.9162+2.6%#628 of 2,229

Other business types in Barren County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Barren County, KY?

As of September 2026, map listings count 34 real estate businesses in Barren County. 3 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts also show 104 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Barren County, KY spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $238.6M a year, or $13,241 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 34 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 62% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,017 households in Barren County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Barren County, KY compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

Barren County has 18.9 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 51% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 162, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Barren County would have about 55, against 34 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,574 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.

How fast is Barren County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Barren County at 45,641 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,017 households. Median household income in Barren County is $50,628, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.1%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Barren County scores 59 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #628 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Barren County. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Barren County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Barren County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Barren County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.