Kurtz Restaurant and Bardstown-Parkview Motel-Office · Photo: Kybluegrass · CC BY-SA 3.0How is Bardstown run?
Bardstown’s city government spent $16.8 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $1,221 per resident. Water and other utilities ($22.7 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Bardstown is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,221 per resident a year, or $3.35 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 44%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$902 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Bardstown’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($902 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 19 Kentucky cities of 10,000–24,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $742, and the middle half spent $581–$1,106. Bardstown spent more than 58% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($4.4 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Kentucky cities of 10,000–24,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Bardstown itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 40% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Bardstown reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $902 · 2023: $1,092 · 2024: $1,221.
full-time in March 2025, up from 145 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,810 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.89% of the home’s value, vs 0.75% across Kentucky.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Bardstown’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Bardstown’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Bardstown →
Who’s in charge in Bardstown
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Bardstown’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on cityofbardstown.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 87 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (13,739).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Bardstown Independent School District
Bardstown’s K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $14,657 per pupil, $8,421 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Kentucky districts overall: 37% local, 46% state, 17% federal.
Nelson County School District · $15,226 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Bardstown’s votes are counted by county
Kentucky reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Bardstown alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Nelson County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican70.2%16,052 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat28.5%6,515 votesOthers: 1.2% (285 votes).
Most votes in Nelson County: Donald J Trump
Kentucky: Trump 64.5%, Harris 33.9%
100% of Bardstown lies in Nelson County. Every 2024 race in Nelson County is on the county’s page.
Nelson County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Bardstown.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: cityofbardstown.org ↗
- 2Kentucky HouseState representatives
- 3Kentucky SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseSplit between districts
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Kentucky
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Bardstown’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Bardstown’s government
How much does Bardstown spend per resident?
About $1,221 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $902 was more than 58% of 19 Kentucky cities of 10,000–24,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Bardstown?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,810 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.89% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.75% across Kentucky. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cityofbardstown.org.
Who runs Bardstown’s government?
See cityofbardstown.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Bardstown yet.
How did Bardstown vote in 2024?
Kentucky counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Bardstown alone. Nelson County, where 100% of Bardstown lies, voted Trump 70.2%, Harris 28.5% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Bardstown?
158 full-time and 20 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $1.1M (about $13.4M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Bardstown in the state legislature?
State Senate District 14 (Jimmy Higdon) and State House District 50 (Candy Massaroni). The House district also covers three neighboring towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Bardstown’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →