Kenton County was established on January 29, 1840, from land given by Campbell County. It was named in honor of Simon Kenton, a pioneer of Kentucky.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The county is located at the confluence of the Licking River and Ohio River, in the outer Bluegrass area of the Bluegrass region of the state. The elevation in the county ranges from to above sea level.
As of the census of 2000, there were 151,464 people, 59,444 households, and 39,470 families living in the county. The population density was. There were 63,571 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 93.99% White, 3.84% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. 1.10% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. There were 59,444 households out of which 33.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.10% were married couples living together, 12.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.60% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.11. The age distribution was 26.30% under 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 31.90% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 or older. The median agewas 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $43,906, and the median income for a family was $52,953. Males had a median income of $37,845 versus $27,253 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,085. About 7.10% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.00% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public schools
The public education in Kenton County is extensive, with five school districts providing education to those in all parts of Kenton County, from the extremely rural southern areas to the highly urbanized north. The districts are:
The Catholic educational system is as extensive as the public system. These schools are operated by the Diocese of Covington's Department of Schools. The Diocese runs 17 schools in Kenton County.
Kenton County is served by a county library with branches in Covington, Erlanger, and Independence. The Erlanger Branch has grown to be the busiest branch library in the state of Kentucky. In 2008, Kenton County Public Library received the highest score of any Kentucky library ranked by Hennen's American Public Library Ratings.
