Ballard county is in the Jackson Purchase region of Kentucky. The elevation in the county ranges from 285 to 495 feet above sea level.

It was formed in 1842 from Hickman and McCracken counties. Ballard county was a source of Carlisle (1886) county. The county seat is Wickliffe.

In 2020 the county population was 7,728 in a land area of 246.66 square miles, an average of 31.3 people per square mile.

The equine population was 300 in the 2012 Kentucky Equine Survey.

Ballard county is in the Paducah micro statistical area and the Purchase Area Development District.

Ballard county was named to honor Bland Ballard, who served in the military in the War of 1812 and elsewhere and in the Kentucky legislature.

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© 2023 David C. Elbon