With 20,808 people, Letcher County is a county in Kentucky. 12% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, below the 36% national rate. Home values have more than doubled since 2000, reaching $67,400. The foreign-born share is 1%. 24.4% of locals live below the federal poverty line. At a median age of 43.5, this is an older place than the country as a whole.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $41,793, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Older
median age 43.5
US median: 38.9
Less educated
12% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Stable housing
home values roughly flat, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Letcher County
What changed most since 1990
Population27,000 → 20,808(−23%)US over the same years: +35%
Adults with a bachelor's degree6.7% → 12.5%(+5.8 pts)US over the same years: +15.3 pts
Median age32.6 → 43.5(+10.9 years)US over the same years: +6.0 years
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)13.6%(138)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)10.8%(109)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era54.8%(555)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War1%(10)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0%(0)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 1,012 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Letcher County, decade by decade
Letcher County population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
27,000
$36,270
$63,362
6.7%
1.7
2000
25,277
$38,455
$65,033
7.7%
4.1
2010
24,519
$45,003
$74,086
11.7%
4.0
2020
21,548
$40,217
$66,299
10.8%
8.8
2024
20,808
$41,793
$67,400
12.5%
8.4
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
