2022 population: 20,893 ( 3,626 from 2010 , 658 from 2020)
Land area: 337.9 square miles
Population density: 61.8 persons per square mile

2022 Census data
White:	20,261	96.98%	16.0%
Black:	137	0.66%	61.2%
Indian:	36	0.17%	5.9%
Asian:	72	0.34%	84.6%
2+ races:	176	0.84%	60.0%
Hispanic:	211	1.01%	70.2%

Total non-White:	632	3.02%	58.4%

2020-2022 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	438	10.2
Deaths:	888	20.6
Net Migration:	-219	-5.1
Net Immigration:	0	0.0

Change in White population:	-3,859	-15.7
Change in Non-White pop.:	233	1.0

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2010
24,519
24,120	98.37%
85	0.35%
34	0.14%
39	0.16%
110	0.45%
124	0.51%
399	1.63%

2000
25,277
24,853	98.32%
129	0.51%
23	0.09%
73	0.29%
81	0.32%
110	0.44%
424	1.68%

1990
27,000
26,812	99.30%
106	0.39%
41	0.15%
33	0.12%
n/a
8	0.03%
188	0.70%

1980
30,687
30,251	98.58%
204	0.66%
11	0.04%
28	0.09%
n/a
186	0.61%
436	1.42%

1970
23,165
22,469	97.00%
619	2.67%
21	0.09%
21	0.09%
n/a
24	0.10%
696	3.00%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2000's
2,820	11.2
2,809	11.1
-1,530	-6.1
3	0.0

-733	-2.9
-25	-0.1

Number	Rate
1990's
3,254	12.1
2,851	10.6
-1,396	-5.2
81	0.3

-1,959	-7.3
236	0.9

Number	Rate
1980's
4,420	14.4
2,707	8.8
-5,145	-16.8
n/a

-3,439	-11.2
-248	-0.8

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
4,663	20.1
n/a

7,782	33.6
-260	-1.1

Age, Family & Household Data for Letcher County, KY

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2022
Number	Percent
42.7
4,616	22.1%
16,277	77.9%
4,323	20.7%

8,415
2.52

5,495	65.3%
4,109	74.8%
379	6.9%
2,920	34.7%

2010
Number	Percent
40.9
5,430	22.1%
19,089	77.9%
3,476	14.2%

10,014
2.42

6,964	69.5%
5,200	74.7%
573	8.2%
3,050	30.5%

2000
Number	Percent
37.8
6,008	23.8%
19,269	76.2%
3,162	12.5%

10,054
2.49

7,467	74.3%
5,903	79.1%
572	7.7%
2,587	25.7%

1990
Number	Percent
32.3
7,756	28.7%
19,244	71.3%
3,160	11.7%

9,725
2.76

7,741	79.6%
6,326	81.7%
562	7.3%
1,984	20.4%

1980
Number	Percent
27.6
10,507	34.2%
20,180	65.8%
3,140	10.2%

10,061
3.04

8,410	83.6%
7,237	86.1%
409	4.9%
1,651	16.4%

2022 Housing Data for Letcher County, KY

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	798	9.5%
$10,000 to $14,999	968	11.5%
$15,000 to $19,999	588	7.0%
$20,000 to $24,999	591	7.0%
$25,000 to $29,999	498	5.9%
$30,000 to $34,999	507	6.0%
$35,000 to $39,999	479	5.7%
$40,000 to $44,999	290	3.4%
$45,000 to $49,999	303	3.6%
$50,000 to $59,999	675	8.0%
$60,000 to $74,999	766	9.1%
$75,000 to $99,999	918	10.9%
$100,000 to $124,999	392	4.7%
$125,000 to $149,999	343	4.1%
$150,000 to $199,999	152	1.8%
$200,000 or more	147	1.7%

Median Household Income	38,466
Per Capita Income	23,522

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to state	90
Compared to U.S.	72

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	1,168	13.9%
Public Assistance	142	1.7%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	2,440	29.0%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	6,462	49.7%
Unemployed	582	4.5%
In Armed Forces	0	0.0%

Total Labor Force	7,044	54.1%
Not in Labor Force	5,966	45.9%

Real Unemployment Rate		50.3%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	1,942	1,900	50.5%
Non-Profit	239	390	38.0%
Self-Employed	364	238	60.5%

Local Government	344	413	45.4%
State Government	354	494	41.7%
Federal Government	112	73	60.5%

Total Private + Self	2,306	2,138	51.9%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	1,049	1,370	43.4%
Total	3,355	3,508	48.9%

Pct. Govt.	26.1%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	593	8.5%
Sales and Office Occupations	1,607	23.0%
Professional, Technical	1,796	25.7%
Service Occupations	1,331	19.0%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	8	0.1%
All others	1,662	23.8%

White Collar		57.2%

Industry
	Number	%
Health care and social assistance	1,557	22.3%
Educational services	1,046	15.0%
Retail trade	985	14.1%
Public administration	561	8.0%
Construction	400	5.7%
Transportation and warehousing	384	5.5%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction	319	4.6%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	264	3.8%
Accommodation and food services	257	3.7%
Other services	248	3.5%
Manufacturing	180	2.6%
Professional, scientific, technical	165	2.4%
Wholesale trade	158	2.3%
Finance and insurance	130	1.9%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	115	1.6%
Information	92	1.3%
Utilities	82	1.2%
Real estate and rental and leasing	35	0.5%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	11	0.2%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	28	0.13%
Puerto Rican	145	0.67%
Cuban	23	0.11%
Dominican	0	0.00%

Total Central American	0	0.00%
Costa Rican	0	0.00%
Guatemalan	0	0.00%
Honduran	0	0.00%
Nicaraguan	0	0.00%
Panamanian	0	0.00%
Salvadoran	0	0.00%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	0	0.00%
Argentinean	0	0.00%
Bolivian	0	0.00%
Chilean	0	0.00%
Colombian	0	0.00%
Ecuadorian	0	0.00%
Paraguayan	0	0.00%
Peruvian	0	0.00%
Uruguayan	0	0.00%
Venezuelan	0	0.00%
Other South American	0	0.00%

Other Hispanic	3	0.01%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Indian	24	0.11%
Chinese	13	0.06%
Vietnamese	4	0.02%
Filipino	2	0.01%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	20,079	98.7%
Spanish	141	0.7%
German, other Germanic	56	0.3%
Russian, Polish, other Slavic	40	0.2%
Chinese	13	0.1%
Other Asian	6	0.0%
Vietnamese	4	0.0%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
American	2,415	11.2%
Irish	2,317	10.8%
English	2,007	9.3%
German	1,408	6.6%
Scottish	430	2.0%
European	265	1.2%
Italian	236	1.1%
Scotch-Irish	226	1.1%
French	202	0.9%
Dutch	175	0.8%
Eastern European	117	0.5%
Welsh	103	0.5%
Polish	73	0.3%
Scandinavian	49	0.2%
Cape Verdean	48	0.2%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	21,479	99.9%
Not a citizen	11	0.1%

Native	21,398	99.6%
Foreign-born	92	0.4%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
1,487	9.7%	1,751	11.4%	5,537	36.0%	4,589	29.8%	1,134	7.4%	879	5.7%
Average years of education: 12.2

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	1,487	9.7%
9-12 Years	1,751	11.4%
H.S. Grad or GED	5,537	36.0%
Some College	4,589	29.8%
Bach. Degree	1,134	7.4%
Grad Degree	879	5.7%
Average years of education: 12.2

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	8,707	7,877	830	9.5%	6.0%
1991	9,046	7,532	1,514	16.7%	7.3%
1992	8,672	7,175	1,497	17.3%	6.9%
1993	8,288	7,118	1,170	14.1%	6.2%
1994	8,121	7,100	1,021	12.6%	5.4%
1995	8,088	7,107	981	12.1%	5.4%
1996	7,792	6,939	853	10.9%	5.4%
1997	7,717	7,045	672	8.7%	5.2%
1998	7,566	7,005	561	7.4%	4.5%
1999	7,854	7,133	721	9.2%	4.5%

2000	8,799	8,117	682	7.8%	4.1%
2001	8,828	8,274	554	6.3%	5.2%
2002	8,844	8,100	744	8.4%	5.8%
2003	9,021	8,104	917	10.2%	6.2%
2004	8,900	8,260	640	7.2%	5.5%
2005	8,999	8,351	648	7.2%	5.9%
2006	9,106	8,422	684	7.5%	5.7%
2007	8,762	8,113	649	7.4%	5.4%
2008	8,731	8,125	606	6.9%	6.5%
2009	8,811	7,830	981	11.1%	10.8%

2010	8,705	7,701	1,004	11.5%	10.3%
2011	8,906	7,997	909	10.2%	9.4%
2012	8,586	7,424	1,162	13.5%	8.2%
2013	8,041	6,709	1,332	16.6%	7.9%
2014	7,246	6,355	891	12.3%	6.4%
2015	6,603	5,843	760	11.5%	5.2%
2016	6,421	5,634	787	12.3%	5.0%
2017	6,280	5,705	575	9.2%	4.8%
2018	6,238	5,849	389	6.2%	4.2%
2019	6,288	5,841	447	7.1%	4.1%

2020	6,111	5,488	623	10.2%	6.6%
2021	6,007	5,582	425	7.1%	4.4%
2022	5,916	5,555	361	6.1%	3.9%
2023	5,959	5,586	373	6.3%	4.2%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	10,614
Median Value	$66,000

Occupied	8,415	79.3%
Vacant	2,199	20.7%

Owned	6,231	74.0%
Rented	2,184	26.0%
Median Rent	$625

Single-Family Units	6,908	65.1%
Detached	6,879	64.8%
Attached	29	0.3%
Buldings with 5+ Units	258	2.4%
Mobile Homes	3,207	30.2%

Letcher County, KY

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Letcher County, KY

2022 Housing Data for Letcher County, KY

2022 Income & Employment Data for Letcher County, KY

2022 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Letcher County, KY

2022 Educational Attainment Data for Letcher County, KY

Historical Labor Force Data for Letcher County, KY