Shelby county is in the Outer Bluegrass region of Kentucky. The elevation in the county ranges from 550 to 1188 feet above sea level.

It was formed in 1792 from Jefferson county. Shelby county was a source of Franklin (1795), Gallatin (1799), Henry (1799), Spencer (1824), and Oldham (1824) counties. The county seat is Shelbyville.

In 2020 the county population was 48,065 in a land area of 379.64 square miles, an average of 126.6 people per square mile.

The equine population was 6,500 in the 2012 Kentucky Equine Survey.

Shelby county is in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro statistical area and the KIPDA Area Development District.

Shelby county was named for Isaac Shelby, first governor of Kentucky.

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© 2025 David C. Elbon