Demographics of Harlan County, Kentucky

Harlan County, Kentucky had 24,725 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −2,027 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.

Harlan County, in four figures

24,725
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate.; −7.6%
Change since July 2020: −2,027 people.; 40.9 ±0.6
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $41,693 ±$4,836
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.

Harlan County, Kentucky's population shrank 7.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Harlan 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

Harlan County, Kentucky's population shrank 7.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Harlan 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	26,752	100.0	100.0
2021	26,139	97.7	100.2
2022	25,603	95.7	100.7
2023	25,306	94.6	101.6
2024	25,046	93.6	102.5
2025	24,725	92.4	103.1

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Population of Harlan 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	26,752	−78	−21	0	−56
2021	26,139	−613	−314	+1	−299
2022	25,603	−536	−295	0	−244
2023	25,306	−297	−178	−3	−112
2024	25,046	−260	−201	−1	−58
2025	24,725	−321	−199	−4	−118

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 40.9 ±0.6: for men 39.8 ±0.7 and for women 42.6 ±1.0. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Harlan County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	Kentucky	United States
Under 5	1,526 ±51	5.9% ±0.2	5.9% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	4,594 ±305	17.8% ±1.2	16.7% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	1,694 ±263	6.6% ±1.0	9.1% ±0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	6,184 ±302	24.0% ±1.2	25.7% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	6,754 ±329	26.2% ±1.3	25.3% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	5,020 ±401	19.5% ±1.6	17.3% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $41,693 ±$4,836, and income per person $22,319 ±$1,482, 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 Harlan County by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	Kentucky	United States
Under $25,000	3,524 ±430	32.8% ±3.9	19.6% ±0.3	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	2,544 ±357	23.7% ±3.3	20.4% ±0.3	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	2,041 ±307	19.0% ±2.8	17.1% ±0.2	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	899 ±195	8.4% ±1.8	12.8% ±0.2	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	1,194 ±269	11.1% ±2.5	15.9% ±0.2	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	287 ±108	2.7% ±1.0	7.1% ±0.2	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	108 to 376	1.0% to 3.5%	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 Harlan County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	Kentucky	United States
All ages	6,874 ±792	27.4% ±3.1	16.1% ±0.3	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	2,060 ±351	35.0% ±5.1	20.3% ±0.4	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	3,747 ±453	29.7% ±3.3	15.4% ±0.3	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	1,067 ±221	16.1% ±3.2	13.4% ±0.3	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Harlan County, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Harlan County	Kentucky	United States
Housing units	13,036 ±30	2,023,116 ±474	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	82.3% ±1.9	89.7% ±0.3	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	17.7% ±1.9	10.3% ±0.3	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	71.6% ±2.7	68.3% ±0.4	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	28.4% ±3.4	31.7% ±0.3	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$73,700 ±$5,865	$205,600 ±$1,096	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$678 ±$31	$967 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1976 ±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 Harlan County by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	Kentucky	United States
Hispanic or Latino	41 to 229	0.2% to 0.9%	5.0% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	24,205 ±145	93.9% ±0.6	81.5% ±0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	328 ±90	1.3% ±0.3	7.6% ±0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	14 to 102	0.1% to 0.4%	1.6% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0 to 113	0% to 0.4%	0.1% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 28	0% to 0.1%	0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0 to 105	0% to 0.4%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	932 ±191	3.6% ±0.7	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 Harlan County by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	Kentucky	United States
Born in the state	21,578 ±522	83.7% ±2.0	67.3% ±0.2	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	4,015 ±523	15.6% ±2.0	27.1% ±0.2	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	27 to 133	0.1% to 0.5%	0.9% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	43 to 155	0.2% to 0.6%	4.7% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	21 to 121	0.1% to 0.5%	1.9% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	11 to 45	< 0.1% to 0.2%	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%.

Harlan County among the counties of Kentucky

47th of 120 by population, July 2025. Every one is listed on the Kentucky page.

Counties of Kentucky near Harlan County in population, July 2025
County	July 2025	Change since 2020
Perry County	26,555	−6.4%
Grant County	26,181	+4.7%
Carter County	26,149	−1.7%
Lincoln County	25,353	+4.6%
Anderson County	25,225	+5.5%
Harlan County	24,725	−7.6%
Rowan County	24,476	−1.0%
Ohio County	23,934	+0.8%
Mercer County	23,733	+4.8%
Bell County	22,829	−4.8%
Allen County	22,536	+9.5%

Elsewhere on the site

Rankings this appears in

No. 4 Counties in Kentucky by poverty rate
No. 16 Counties by poverty rate
No. 33 Counties in Kentucky by homeownership rate
No. 37 Counties in Kentucky by median age
No. 47 Counties by population in Kentucky
No. 59 Counties in Kentucky by median rent

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