Groundwork

Real estate · County · Kentucky

Real estate businesses in Shelby County, KY

How Shelby 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 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #874 of 2,229 scored counties
#37 of 75 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
46
3 chain locations (7%)
Official establishments
32
+28.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$287.8M
On rent and homeowner costs · $15,572 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
144
44% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
24.9
35% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
51,243
+6.2% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Shelby 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 Shelby County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 46 real estate businesses in Shelby County. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 7%, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 24.9 for every 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Shelby County comes to about $287.8M a year: $15,572 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 44% 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.

Official counts show 32 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Shelby County in 2023, up 28.0% from 2019. That is one for every 578 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Another 250 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Shelby County grew 6.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For real estate businesses, Shelby County has a Groundwork market score of 54 (upper middle): #874 of 2,229 scored counties and #37 of 75 scored counties in Kentucky.

How Shelby 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 Shelby County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureShelby CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households24.927.438.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)144120100
Households per official establishment578683414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+28.0%+20.5%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.2%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$15,572$14,283$16,661
Median household income$82,604$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score5460

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
25 → 32+28.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
47
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
250Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
463 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
66The 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County

Population, 2025 estimate
51,243+6.2% since 2020
Households
18,484
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
380 sq. mi.
People per square mile
129
Median household income
$82,604+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$104,252
Median home value
$304,800
Jobs located here
16,455
Daytime population
41,644Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Shelby 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 Shelby County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Shelby 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
37Shelby County, KY544624.9144+6.2%#874 of 2,229

Other business types in Shelby County

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

Questions

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

There are 46 real estate businesses on map listings in Shelby County as of September 2026. 3 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 32 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 28.0% from 2019. Official counts list 250 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $287.8M a year, or $15,572 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 46 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 44% 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. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,484 households in Shelby County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Shelby County has 24.9 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 144, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Shelby County would have about 66, against 46 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 578 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 28.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is Shelby County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Shelby County at 51,243 people in 2025, up 6.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,484 households. The median household income in Shelby County is $82,604 a year, 2% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Shelby County scores 54 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #874 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Shelby 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 Shelby County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Shelby 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 Shelby 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.