Meade County, Kentucky

Meade County is a county in Kentucky, United States, on the Ohio River in the north-central
part of the state, about 40 miles southwest of Louisville. It had a population of 30,003 at the
2020 census, an estimated 30,699 by 2024, and covers 325 square miles (840 km2) — 305 square
miles of land and 19 square miles of water — centred near 37°59′N 86°13′W.

Brandenburg is the county seat; its postal code is 40108. The county holds 3 incorporated
cities and 13 unincorporated places, including the Fort Knox census-designated place, and it runs
on Eastern Time.

Towns & Villages in Meade County

Meade County has 16 named places on record: 3 incorporated cities, one census-designated place
shared with a neighboring county, and 12 unincorporated communities with no local government of
their own. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural
communities with no formal boundary.

Two places on this list straddle county lines. Muldraugh’s 1,040 residents are countywide
— most of the city sits in Meade County’s eastern edge, with a smaller southern portion
reaching into Hardin County. Fort Knox works the other way: its census-designated place spans
both Hardin and Meade counties and reported 7,742 residents in 2020, but the great majority of
that population and the base’s built-up area sit on the Hardin County side, which is why no
countywide figure is broken out for Meade County alone.

ZIP Codes

• 40108 — Brandenburg
• 40142 — Guston
• 40117 — Ekron
• 40104 — Battletown
• 40155 — Muldraugh
• 40157 — Payneville
• 40161 — Rhodelia

Big Spring, Concordia, Flaherty, Garrett, Hog Wallow, Lickskillet, Midway and Rock Haven have no
ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code.
Fort Knox uses its own ZIP codes, 40121 and 40122, which are administered under Hardin County
rather than Meade County.

Geography

Meade County’s landscape is mostly karst plain, pocked with sinkholes, rising to occasional
hills. In the northwest, a plateau breaks away from the plains at the Dripping Springs
Escarpment, an easterly-facing cuesta. The county’s northern border runs 56 miles along the
Ohio River, which separates it from three Indiana counties across the water. Of the county’s
325 square miles, 305 are land and 19 are water, about 5.9 percent — most of that water is
the Ohio River itself rather than any inland lake.

Hardin County lies to the southeast, including the shared ground of Fort Knox, and Breckinridge
County lies to the southwest. Across the Ohio River, Harrison County, Indiana sits to the
northeast, Crawford County, Indiana to the north, and Perry County, Indiana to the northwest.
Hardin County, Breckinridge County, Harrison County, Crawford County and Perry County all border Meade
County.

Demographics

Meade County had a population of 30,003 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 30,699 residents by 2024. Brandenburg and Muldraugh are the two largest communities,
though Muldraugh’s count is split with Hardin County. Median household income runs $74,355
(2024), well above Kentucky’s statewide figure of $61,118 (2023 ACS) — a gap driven
largely by federal and military payrolls tied to Fort Knox. Population density works out to about
98 people per square mile of land, low even by rural Kentucky standards, reflecting the county’s
large share of federal land and karst terrain that limits development.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about
2,101 workers, followed by retail trade at 1,862 and construction at 1,425, out of roughly 14,189
employed residents countywide. Fort Knox, the Army post whose grounds reach into the county’s
southeast corner, is by far the region’s dominant employer — it hosts the Army Human
Resources Command and the adjacent United States Bullion Depository, the fortified Treasury
Department vault that stores much of the country’s gold reserves. Public administration and
manufacturing pay the highest average wages in the county, reflecting that federal and defense-linked
work.

History

Kentucky’s legislature formed Meade County on 17 December 1823, naming it for Captain
James M. Meade, who was killed in action at the Battle of River Raisin during the War of 1812.
Brandenburg was founded in 1804 on land called Falling Springs, became the county seat in 1825,
and was formally incorporated in 1872.

In July 1863, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan launched his raid into Indiana from
Brandenburg, crossing the Ohio River with his cavalry during the Civil War. On 3 April 1974, an F5
tornado struck during the Super Outbreak and killed 31 people in Meade County — all but
three of the outbreak’s Kentucky fatalities and most of its injuries happened in
Brandenburg. The storm destroyed 128 homes and 30 businesses in the city.

Getting There

No interstate highway crosses Meade County; Interstate 65 runs through neighboring Hardin
County to the south. Kentucky Route 79 is the county’s main north–south road, running
from Guston up through Brandenburg to its northern terminus on the Ohio River, connecting there
with KY 313 and KY 448; KY 428 and KY 261 also cross the county.

• Louisville — about 40 miles northeast
• Elizabethtown — about 26 miles southeast
• Corydon, Indiana — about 15 miles north

Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, about 40 miles northeast of Brandenburg, is the
nearest major commercial airport. No Amtrak route reaches Meade County; Louisville itself has no
passenger rail service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Meade County located?
It sits in north-central Kentucky on the Ohio River, about 40 miles southwest of Louisville,
bordered by Hardin and Breckinridge counties and, across the river, three Indiana counties.

What is the population of Meade County?
30,003 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 30,699 by 2024.

How big is Meade County?
325 square miles (840 km2) total, of which 305 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Meade County?
Brandenburg, the county seat since 1825, is also the county’s largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Meade County?
Three incorporated cities — Brandenburg, Muldraugh (partly) and Ekron — plus the Fort
Knox CDP and a dozen unincorporated communities including Battletown, Guston, Payneville and
Rhodelia.

What ZIP codes does Meade County use?
40108 for Brandenburg, 40142 for Guston, 40117 for Ekron, 40104 for Battletown, 40155 for
Muldraugh, 40157 for Payneville and 40161 for Rhodelia.

What is Meade County known for?
Fort Knox and the United States Bullion Depository, and the deadly F5 tornado that hit Brandenburg
during the April 1974 Super Outbreak.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Kentucky.