Real estate · County · Kentucky
Real estate businesses in Carter County, KY
How Carter County, KY compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #480 of 2,229 scored counties
#19 of 75 scored counties in Kentucky
- Listings
- 10
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $141.6M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,121 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 327
- 3.3 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.3
- 76% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 26,149
- −1.7% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Carter 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 Carter County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Households in Carter County spend about $141.6M a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $13,121 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 3.3 times 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.
Carter County has 10 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. That is 9.3 per 10,000 households, 76% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Carter County in 2023. That is one for every 2,699 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Another 47 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates put the population change in Carter County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Carter County scores 62 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #480 of 2,229 scored counties and #19 of 75 scored counties in Kentucky. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How Carter 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.
| Measure | Carter County | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.3 | 27.4 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 327 | 120 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 2,699 | 683 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +20.5% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.7% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,121 | $14,283 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $51,235 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 62 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3 → 4
- Employees, 2023
- 7
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $337K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 47Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 100 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 33The 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 Carter 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 Carter County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 26,149−1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 10,794
- Median age
- 41.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 410 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 64
- Median household income
- $51,235+47.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $69,045
- Median home value
- $132,800
- Jobs located here
- 6,014
- Daytime population
- 23,638Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Carter 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 Carter County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Carter County marked.
Top counties in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Harrison County, KY | 80 | 8 | 11.0 | 300 | +4.9% | #24 of 2,229 |
| 2Spencer County, KY | 80 | 12 | 16.4 | 233 | +7.7% | #28 of 2,229 |
| 3Lincoln County, KY | 76 | 9 | 9.3 | 328 | +4.6% | #84 of 2,229 |
| 4Grant County, KY | 73 | 7 | 7.6 | 429 | +4.7% | #136 of 2,229 |
| 5Hart County, KY | 72 | 8 | 10.8 | 278 | +4.3% | #161 of 2,229 |
| 6Woodford County, KY | 70 | 18 | 16.6 | 218 | +3.7% | #210 of 2,229 |
| 7Nelson County, KY | 70 | 30 | 15.7 | 213 | +4.8% | #211 of 2,229 |
| 8Anderson County, KY | 70 | 18 | 18.6 | 182 | +5.5% | #216 of 2,229 |
| 9Meade County, KY | 68 | 17 | 15.4 | 225 | +2.2% | #273 of 2,229 |
| 10Mercer County, KY | 67 | 13 | 14.2 | 230 | +4.8% | #301 of 2,229 |
| 19Carter County, KY | 62 | 10 | 9.3 | 327 | −1.7% | #480 of 2,229 |
Other business types in Carter County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in Carter County, KY?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 real estate businesses in Carter County. None of them are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts list 47 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Carter County, KY spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $141.6M a year, or $13,121 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 10 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 3.3 times 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 10,794 households in Carter County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Carter County, KY compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
Carter County has 9.3 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 76% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 327, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Carter County would have about 33, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,699 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.
How fast is Carter County, KY growing?
Population estimates put Carter County at 26,149 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,794 households. Median household income in Carter County is $51,235, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 47.5%, 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. Carter County scores 62 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #480 of 2,229 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Carter 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 Carter County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Carter 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 Carter 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.