county

Breathitt County, KY

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

AI Overview

Breathitt County is a small rural Kentucky county of 13,438 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 46.0% and an unemployment rate of 9.3%, reflecting a constrained but low-cost workforce where median worker earnings run $32,192 and only 16.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The county's economy produces a GDP per capita of $16,854 against a median household income of $34,808, with a poverty rate of 28.2% signaling significant economic hardship. Housing costs are among the lowest measurable, with a median home value of $61,800 and median gross rent of $543/month, and the county posted modest population growth of 2.5% over five years despite these structural pressures.

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

Population

13,438

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$34,808

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+2.5% since 2018

Breathitt County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone12,769 (96.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race183 (1.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races178 (1.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone77 (0.6%)
  • Asian Alone40 (0.3%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone23 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish51
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island50
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)32
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)19

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

406

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$16,854

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$23,544

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

9.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

28.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,357
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)468
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)408
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services330
  5. 5.Construction (Group)306

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,599
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations784
  3. 3.Service Occupations717
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations654
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations441

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.13×)155
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.85×)400
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.42×)1,515
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.28×)405
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.16×)122

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$61,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$543/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • Less Than $10,000592 (14.1%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999380 (9.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999304 (7.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999301 (7.2%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999268 (6.4%)
  • $70,000 to $79,999242 (5.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

80.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

46.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$32,192

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

28.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

12.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,976 (71.7%)
  • Carpooled706 (17.0%)
  • Worked At Home292 (7.0%)
  • Walked139 (3.3%)
  • Other34 (0.8%)
  • Public Transit3 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Breathitt County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

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