According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 630 square miles (1,600 km2), of which 623 square miles (1,610 km2) is land and 6.9 square miles (18 km2) (1.1%) is water.[7] It is the fourth-largest county by area in Kentucky.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 110,702. The median age was 38.3 years. 24.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.1 males age 18 and over.[13][14]
66.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 33.5% lived in rural areas.[15]
There were 42,933 households in the county, of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[13]
There were 46,669 housing units, of which 8.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 62.4% were owner-occupied and 37.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.0%.[13]
There were 39,853 households, out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% weremarried couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.0% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.04.
The age distribution was 25.97% under 18, 9.93% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 25.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.41 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.54 males.
According to the 2010 Census, the median income for a household in the county was $43,421, and the median income for a family was $55,151. Theper capita income for the county was $23,744. Remaining economic data is from the 2000 Census. At that time, males had a median income of $30,743 versus $22,688 for females. About 8.20% of families and 10.00% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 13.50% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.
Aerial view of the U.S. Gold Bullion Depository at Fort Knox.Godman Army Airfield and the fort can be seen in the background.
The economy of Hardin County is largely dominated by the adjacentFort Knox Military Installation.[17]
In May 2010, the Army's new location of the Human Resource Command (HRC) opened. The HRC complex is the largest construction project in the history of Fort Knox, began in November 2007. its a $185 million, three-story, 880,000-square-foot (82,000 m2) complex, sitting on 104 acres (0.42 km2). As many as 2,100 new permanent human resources, information technology, and administrative white-collar civilian professionals will be working there. Officials expect that as many as 12,000 people, including the families of soldiers and civilian workers to relocate to the area as a result of the Fort Knox realignment of 2005.[18][19]
Approximately $1 billion in new federal and state construction, and infrastructure funds were committed to Fort Knox, and in the surrounding areas by the end of 2011 for Fort Knox realignment of 2005.[20]
Gov.Steve Beshear of Kentucky announced the creation of a task force to help Hardin County, and the surrounding counties prepare for the Fort Knox realignment. The group is "designed to meet specific needs" in areas such as transportation, economic development, education, water and sewer availability, and area wide planning.[21]
In August 2025, Ford announced the opening of its new $5.8 Billion EV-Battery facility inGlendale, which could grow to 5,000 workers when it reaches full capacity, and the start of its commercial battery production.[22][23] In December 2025, Ford announced major plans to repurpose its existing EV battery plant in Glendale, into a dedicated hub for manufacturing battery energy storage systems, creating a new Ford business, and will invest $2 billion to retool the facility, which will cause temporary layoffs of 1,500 to 1,600 workers, aiming to reemploy over 2,000 people when the repurposed plant reopens in late 2027.[24][25]
Hardin County is classified by the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) as both amoist county and a "limiteddry county". Under ABC terminology, a "moist county" is an otherwise dry county in which at least one city has voted to allow sale of alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption. The word "limited" means that at least one city within the county, or the county as a whole, has voted to allow alcohol sales in qualifying restaurants. In the case of Hardin County, Elizabethtown, Radcliff, and Vine Grove all voted to allow off-premises sales in October 2011. West Point has voted to allow sale of alcohol by the drink in restaurants that seat at least 50 and derive at least 70% of their revenue from food (including non-alcoholic beverages).
The formal government structure of Hardin County consists of a Fiscal Court along with six incorporated cities.[28] Elizabethtown is the county seat. In 2010, the Hardin County Government, led by Hardin County Judge/Executive Harry Berry, commissioned a study entitled, "Hardin County Vision Project," in part to explore the benefits of consolidated government in the county. The growth of the area and the changes expected due to the realignment of Fort Knox led to the study. Hardin County United, a volunteer-led organization, was established to consider the findings of this project and develop recommendations for the future of government in the county.[29]
Two public school districts operate in the county.[33]
TheHardin County Schools, headquartered in a portion of Radcliff that has an Elizabethtown mailing address, serve K–12 students in most of the county, with the exception of (most of) Elizabethtown and Fort Knox. The district operates 13 elementary schools, five middle schools, and three high schools, plus one alternative school for middle and high school grades. In July 2020, the formerWest Point Independent School District, which operated a single K–8 school serving the West Point area (cut off from the rest of the county byFort Knox), closed and merged into the Hardin County district after long-term declines in enrollment.[34][35]
TheElizabethtown Independent Schools serve students in most of the city of Elizabethtown; however, some areas are instead served by the Hardin County district. The district operates three elementary schools, one middle school, andone high school. Before the closure of the West Point district, that area's high school students attended Elizabethtown High under a contract between the two districts. West Point students that had attended Elizabethtown High under that contract may complete their high school education there; the last such students are expected to graduate in 2023.
Fort Knox however is assigned to theDepartment of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA),[33] which, through its Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools subagency, operates fourschools on the Fort Knox base formilitary dependents. DDESS has one elementary school (grades K-5), one intermediate school (1–5), one middle school (6–8), and one high school (9–12) on base. After the Army inactivated a combat brigade, resulting in the relocation of 3,500 soldiers and their families from the base, DoDEA closed four other schools—three elementary schools and one intermediate school—at the end of the 2013–14 school year. At that time, DoDEA also restructured the grades at all of the remaining schools except the high school.[36] A new $16-millionFort Knox High School, a two-story, state-of-the-art facility that united the existing vocational school with the current gymnasium, creating a connected campus was completed in 2008, with dedication on August 7, 2008. The remaining parts of the old high school were then demolished.[37]
Five private schools also operate in the county, St. James Catholic School (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville), Gloria Dei Lutheran School (LCMS), Elizabethtown Christian Academy, North Hardin Christian School, and Hardin Christian Academy.
