Signature · 7.8% low-access (15th pct)
Carter County, KY
Carter County lands in the lower national band on low-access (7.8%); supermarket distance is less binding than in the upper band, though local tracts can still diverge.
- 7.8%
- low-access pop.
- 1
- food-desert tracts
- 19.6%
- on SNAP
- 26K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Carter County, KY
LA-ADEQUATE · BELOW-NATIONAL · LILA-SINGLE · SNAP-HEAVY · VEH-TYPICAL · DENSITY-MIXED
- LA-ADEQUATE 7.8% low-access
- BELOW-NATIONAL -14.3 pts vs US
- LILA-SINGLE 1 food-desert tract
- SNAP-HEAVY 19.6% SNAP
- VEH-TYPICAL 8.3% no vehicle
- DENSITY-MIXED 14% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Anderson County (+ 0.0 pts)
Lower-band low-access
Carter County lands in the lower national band (7.8%, #2,658 of 3,079); local tracts can still diverge from the county mean.
- #2,658
- national by low-access %
- #69
- in KY
- 1
- low-access tracts
- 1K
- food-desert residents
Lower-band county means still leave tract outliers on the table below.
Signature read: 7.8% low-access (15th pct) (-14.3 pts vs U.S. low-access).
How Carter County compares nationally
Food access in Carter County compares favorably nationally: its 7.8% low-access share is lower than the vast majority of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, higher than only 15% of them (rank #2,662).
Carter County's lower-band USDA tier split
7 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 1 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, Carter County has 1 urban and 6 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
Carter County vs nearby low low-access peers
Poles + nearest peers in Kentucky, not a full county-board reprint
- Robertson
Robertson 74.8%
74.8 % low-access
- Jackson 8.1
Jackson 8.1%
8.1 % low-access
- Carlisle 7.9
Carlisle 7.9%
7.9 % low-access
- Carter 7.8
Carter 7.8%
7.8 % low-access
- Anderson 7.8
Anderson 7.8%
7.8 % low-access
- Morgan 7.6
Morgan 7.6%
7.6 % low-access
- Ballard 0
Ballard 0%
0 % low-access
FARA 2019 · lower low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 7 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 27,720 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 1 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 1 |
| Low-Access Population | 2,173 |
| Low-Access Share | 7.8%well below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 1,038 |
ACS 2024 · elevated SNAP band
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 26,341 |
| Median Household Income | $51,235 |
| Poverty Rate | 19.2%above the national average |
| SNAP Households | 2,118 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 19.6%well above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 8.3%near the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 2.2% |
Thick SNAP store book in Carter County
Carter County has 40 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 4 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 22 locations (55% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 22
- 156 fuel mart, olive hill
- buffalo market, grayson
- carter mart, grayson
- clark's pump-n-shop 52, grayson
- clark's pump-n-shop 75, rush
- clarks pump n shop 56, olive hill
- jng mart llc, grayson
- kash stop 11, olive hill
- lake tiger mart 15, grayson
- lakeway express, grayson
- love's travel stop 418, grayson
- omm llc - bhagavati inc, olive hill
- olive hill bp 761, olive hill
- param oil inc dba hitchins foodmart, grayson
- quality mart, grayson
- quality mart #2, grayson
- speedway 9510, grayson
- speedway 9673, olive hill
- super quik food store 008, grayson
- t & t outdoors, grayson
- upper tygart mini mart & deli llc, olive hill
- zip zone express 8, grayson
Combination Grocery/Other · 15
- dollar general 0256, olive hill
- dollar general 10557, grayson
- dollar general 18843, hitchins
- dollar general 20190, rush
- dollar general 23053, olive hill
- dollar general 23257, olive hill
- dollar general 23346, grayson
- dollar general 23415, olive hill
- dollar general 24187, grayson
- dollar general 4060, grayson
- dollar tree 381, grayson
- family dollar 12381, willard
- family dollar store 693, olive hill
- family dollar store 804, grayson
- walgreens 19971, grayson
Supermarket · 2
- houchens save a lot 242, grayson
- save a lot olive hill 24863, olive hill
Super Store · 1
- ralph's food fair, grayson
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in Kentucky
One of 119 counties in Kentucky, 6 are shown here.
Compare Carter County vs Adair County → · All Kentucky counties →
Counties near Carter County's lower low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Carter County, both outside Kentucky so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside KY (7.8% here).
- Winnebago County, IA · 7.8% low-access
- Winnebago County, IA · 7.8% low-access
- Mille Lacs County, MN · 7.8% low-access
- Mille Lacs County, MN · 7.8% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside KY (19.6% here).
- Saginaw County, MI · 19.6% SNAP
- Saginaw County, MI · 19.6% SNAP
- Evans County, GA · 19.6% SNAP
- Evans County, GA · 19.6% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
Carter County inside a lower low-access state context
Carter County sits inside Kentucky (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Carter County, KY are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 21043. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.