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County in Kentucky, United States

Greenup County is a county located along the Ohio River in the northeastern part of the U. S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,962. The county was founded in 1803 and named in honor of Christopher Greenup. Its county seat is Greenup. Greenup County is part of the Huntington Ashland, WV KY OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Located with its northern border formed by the Ohio River, Greenup County was organized by an act of the General Assembly of Kentucky on December 12, 1803, from Mason County, which included the majority of eastern Kentucky at the time. Three courthouses have served Greenup County. The first courthouse, built of logs, was replaced by a brick structure in 1811.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 354 square miles (917 km2), of which 344 square miles (891 km2) is land and 10 square miles (26 km2) (2.8%) is water.

Like most eastern Kentucky counties, Greenup County is predominantly made up of rolling hills and valleys. The land in the Ohio River valley is generally flat and mostly populated by industry, commerce and residential development. Beyond this the land gives way to a series of hills and valleys that are representative of the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It is relatively sparsely inhabited by farmers. Among these hills, popular fishing spots can be found among the Little Sandy River, Greenbo Lake, and Tygarts Creek. Greenup County's land is still predominantly covered by forest with minimal clear cutting of the old forests. The soil has long supported a healthy agriculture and livestock industry. Traditionally, this has meant a sizeable tobacco base and cattle ranching. Since the late 20th century, as traditional agriculture products have been dominated by industrial scale agri corporations, growth has been seen in non traditional products such as American Quarter Horses, ostriches, and marijuana.

U. S. Highway 23 is the primary route for travel through Greenup County. It enters Greenup County at the southeasternmost point and follows the Ohio River north along the eastern border passing through Russell, Flatwoods, Raceland, Wurtland, Greenup and South Shore. It then exits just west of South Shore crossing the Ohio River via the U. S. Grant Bridge into Portsmouth, Ohio and continuing north towards Columbus, Ohio. The AA Highway begins at U. S. Highway 23 and connects to U. S. Highway 52 in Ohio via the Jesse Stuart Memorial Bridge. The AA Highway (also known as Route 10) runs west intersecting Route 7 and eventually exiting west into Lewis County. Since its completion in 1995, the AA Highway has allowed Northeastern Kentucky residents to more easily travel to Maysville, Kentucky as well as Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. The northern terminus of the Industrial Parkway (Kentucky Route 67) ends at U. S. Highway 23 at Wurtland. This highway serves to connect Wurtland and the surrounding towns of Greenup, Flatwoods and the unincorporated area of Argillite to the EastPark industrial park and Interstate 64 in Carter County.

Greenup County School District serves the cities of Greenup, Wurtland, South Shore and rural Greenup County. Russell Independent School District serves the cities of Russell, Flatwoods and Bellefonte. Raceland Worthington Independent School District serves the cities of Raceland and Worthington.

Greenup County is a moist county, meaning that sale of alcohol in the county is prohibited except in certain areas as voted on by the residents of the area, including at least one area where full retail sales are permitted. In the case of Greenup County, alcohol sales are permitted in the following areas:
The city of Russell has allowed the full retail sale of alcohol since 2014 after allowing, since 2008, by the drink alcohol sales at restaurants which seat at least 100 diners and derive at least 70% of their total sales from food. The cities of Greenup, Raceland and South Shore allow full retail sale of alcohol after voters approved local option petitions in 2020. The city of Bellefonte has allowed the full retail sale of alcohol since 2017 after allowing, since 2009, the Bellefonte Country Club to sell alcohol by the drink under a provision that allows voters of an otherwise dry precinct to allow alcohol sales at a specific, voter approved, USGA regulation golf course. The status change had no practical effect within the city itself as restaurants (other than the Bellefonte Country Club), liquor stores, gas stations, grocery stores and other businesses that generally sell alcohol are, by local ordinance, prohibited within the city limits of Bellefonte. The change in status allowed the Bellefonte Country Club to receive a "caterer's license" to serve alcohol by the drink at private offsite events, which was not permitted under the previous alcohol status. The Hunnewell election precinct in unincorporated Greenup County approved a petition in 2020 allowing the River Bend Golf Course to sell alcohol by the drink under a provision that allows voters of an otherwise dry precinct to allow alcohol sales at a specific, voter approved, USGA regulation golf course. The sale of alcohol is prohibited in the cities of Flatwoods, Worthington, Wurtland and in all areas of unincorporated Greenup County outside the River Bend Golf Course.