county

Harlan County, KY

Demographic and economic profile of Harlan County, KY, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Harlan County is a small Appalachian Kentucky county of 26,185 residents with an economy historically rooted in coal extraction, reflected in a GDP per capita of $22,320 and median worker earnings of $31,385. The available labor force is limited, with a labor force participation rate of just 40.2% and an unemployment rate of 11.0%, and only 12.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing costs are among the lowest measurable, with a median home value of $73,100 and median gross rent of $651 per month, though the county faces a 27.2% poverty rate and a population decline of 3.5% over the past five years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

26,185

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$41,693

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.5% since 2018

Harlan County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone24,269 (94.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races659 (2.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone328 (1.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race325 (1.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone67 (0.3%)
  • Asian Alone58 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish35
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island34
  3. 3.Vietnamese31
  4. 4.Other Indo-European28
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)25

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,115

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$22,320

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$21,681

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

11.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

27.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,602
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,153
  3. 3.Construction (Group)516
  4. 4.Public Administration (Group)513
  5. 5.Other Services, Except Public Administration (Group)500

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,591
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,878
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,308
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,032
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations859

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.67×)434
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.90×)665
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.40×)2,427
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.28×)1,034
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.18×)413

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$73,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$651/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

71.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $60,000 to $69,999789 (10.3%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999655 (8.5%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999638 (8.3%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999605 (7.9%)
  • $70,000 to $79,999498 (6.5%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999491 (6.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

12.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

79.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

40.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$31,385

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,787 (76.8%)
  • Carpooled1,119 (14.9%)
  • Worked At Home440 (5.8%)
  • Walked91 (1.2%)
  • Public Transit51 (0.7%)
  • Other30 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.