Demographics of Breathitt County, Kentucky

Breathitt County, Kentucky had 12,558 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −1,143 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the American Community Survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Breathitt County, in four figures

12,558
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate.; −8.3%
Change since July 2020: −1,143 people.; 42.8 ±0.9
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $34,808 ±$3,824
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. Each year's change is births less deaths, net moves from abroad and net moves from elsewhere in the country, with the Bureau's small residual. The 2020 row's components run 3 months, from the April census to July 1.

Breathitt County, Kentucky's population shrank 8.3% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Breathitt County, Kentucky's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Breathitt County, Kentucky's population shrank 8.3% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Breathitt County, Kentucky's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	13,701	100.0	100.0
2021	13,555	98.9	100.2
2022	13,338	97.4	100.7
2023	12,931	94.4	101.6
2024	12,751	93.1	102.5
2025	12,558	91.7	103.1

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Population of Breathitt County, Kentucky on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change	Births less deaths	From abroad	From elsewhere in the country
2020	13,701	−20	−21	0	−1
2021	13,555	−146	−77	0	−75
2022	13,338	−217	−143	+1	−71
2023	12,931	−407	−85	+8	−336
2024	12,751	−180	−108	+9	−81
2025	12,558	−193	−108	+7	−94

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 42.8 ±0.9: for men 40.9 ±1.8 and for women 44.2 ±0.9. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Breathitt County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	Kentucky	United States
Under 5	742 ±28	5.6% ±0.2	5.9% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	2,070 ±164	15.6% ±1.2	16.7% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	905 ±151	6.8% ±1.1	9.1% ±0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	3,313 ±216	25.0% ±1.6	25.7% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	3,765 ±258	28.4% ±1.9	25.3% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	2,481 ±222	18.7% ±1.7	17.3% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $34,808 ±$3,824, and income per person $22,593 ±$1,585, in 2024 dollars. The median is $63,726 ±$429 in Kentucky and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Breathitt County by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	Kentucky	United States
Under $25,000	2,191 ±313	40.1% ±5.5	19.6% ±0.3	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	1,096 ±209	20.1% ±3.8	20.4% ±0.3	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	924 ±161	16.9% ±2.9	17.1% ±0.2	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	463 ±132	8.5% ±2.4	12.8% ±0.2	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	533 ±136	9.8% ±2.5	15.9% ±0.2	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	195 ±81	3.6% ±1.5	7.1% ±0.2	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	21 to 103	0.4% to 1.9%	7.2% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Breathitt County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	Kentucky	United States
All ages	4,331 ±524	33.1% ±4.0	16.1% ±0.3	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	1,146 ±221	42.1% ±6.6	20.3% ±0.4	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	2,231 ±363	32.3% ±4.7	15.4% ±0.3	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	954 ±205	27.8% ±5.5	13.4% ±0.3	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Breathitt County, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Breathitt County	Kentucky	United States
Housing units	6,575 ±24	2,023,116 ±474	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	83.1% ±3.0	89.7% ±0.3	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	16.9% ±2.9	10.3% ±0.3	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	76.6% ±3.0	68.3% ±0.4	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	23.4% ±3.3	31.7% ±0.3	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$70,300 ±$10,295	$205,600 ±$1,096	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$548 ±$47	$967 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1989 ±2	1982 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Breathitt County by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	Kentucky	United States
Hispanic or Latino	53 to 245	0.4% to 1.8%	5.0% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	12,741 ±61	96.0% ±0.5	81.5% ±0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	15 to 137	0.1% to 1.0%	7.6% ±0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	0 to 107	0% to 0.8%	1.6% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0 to 50	0% to 0.4%	0.1% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 20	0% to 0.2%	0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0 to 20	0% to 0.2%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	124 to 370	0.9% to 2.8%	3.9% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Breathitt County by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	Kentucky	United States
Born in the state	11,552 ±251	87.0% ±1.9	67.3% ±0.2	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	1,636 ±249	12.3% ±1.9	27.1% ±0.2	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	0 to 91	0% to 0.7%	0.9% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	0 to 89	0% to 0.7%	4.7% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	0 to 30	0% to 0.2%	1.9% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	0 to 62	0% to 0.5%	2.8% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Breathitt County among the counties of Kentucky

89th of 120 by population, July 2025. Every one is listed on the Kentucky page.

Counties of Kentucky near Breathitt County in population, July 2025
County	July 2025	Change since 2020
Lewis County	12,901	−1.4%
Union County	12,839	−5.9%
Powell County	12,812	−2.2%
Edmonson County	12,749	+5.0%
Caldwell County	12,609	−0.3%
Breathitt County	12,558	−8.3%
Butler County	12,520	+1.6%
Washington County	12,368	+2.7%
Green County	11,644	+4.6%
Owen County	11,601	+2.6%
Monroe County	11,191	−1.1%

Elsewhere on the site

Rankings this appears in

No. 5 Counties by poverty rate
No. 89 Counties by population in Kentucky
No. 120 Counties by population growth in Kentucky

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026