Breckinridge County, Kentucky

Breckinridge County
Breckinridge County, Kentucky courthouse in Hardinsburg
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°46′N 86°26′W / 37.77°N 86.43°W / 37.77; -86.43
Country United States
State Kentucky
Founded1799
Named afterJohn Breckinridge
SeatHardinsburg
Largest cityHardinsburg
Area
  Total
586 sq mi (1,520 km2)
  Land567 sq mi (1,470 km2)
  Water18 sq mi (50 km2)  3.2%
Population
 (2020)
  Total
20,432
  Estimate 
(2024)
21,221
  Density37.4/sq mi (14.4/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
  Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district2nd
Websitebreckinridgeky.com

Breckinridge County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,432. Its county seat is Hardinsburg, Kentucky. The county was named for John Breckinridge (1760–1806), a Kentucky Attorney General, state legislator, United States Senator, and United States Attorney General. It was the 38th Kentucky county in order of formation. Breckinridge County is now a wet county, following a local-option election on January 29, 2013, but it had been a dry county for the previous 105 years.