County population in 2016: 23,514 (all rural); it was 25,277 in 2000County owner-occupied with a mortgage or a loan houses and condos in 2010: 3,000 County owner-occupied free and clear houses and condos in 2010: 4,744 County owner-occupied houses and condos in 2000: 8,148 Renter-occupied apartments: 2,270 (it was 1,937 in 2000)
% of renters here:
19%
State:
31%
Land area: 339 sq. mi.
Water area: 0.1 sq. mi.
Population density: 69 people per square mile (average).
Mar. 2016 cost of living index in Letcher County: 81.8 (low, U.S. average is 100)
Estimated median household income in 2016: $30,384 ($21,110 in 1999)
This county:
$30,384
Kentucky:
$46,659
Median contract rent in 2016 for apartments: $397 (lower quartile is $318, upper quartile is $473)
This county:
$397
State:
$555
Estimated median house or condo value in 2016: $61,617 (it was $35,700 in 2000)
Letcher:
$61,617
Kentucky:
$135,600
Lower value quartile - upper value quartile: $33,300 - $97,072 Median monthly housing costs for homes and condos with a mortgage: $802 Median monthly housing costs for units without a mortgage: $266
Institutionalized population: 179
Crime in 2004 (reported by the sheriff's office or county police, not the county total):
Murders: 0
Rapes: 0
Robberies: 0
Assaults: 3
Burglaries: 25
Thefts: 35
Auto thefts: 12
Single-family new house construction building permits:
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2016: $544 (0.7%) Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2016: $386 (0.7%)
Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2016: 29.3%
Letcher County:
29.3%
Kentucky:
18.5%
(29.8% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 31.7% for Black residents, 10.1% for Hispanic or Latino residents, 79.1% for American Indian residents, 1.5% for two or more races residents)
Median age of residents in 2016: 41.8 years old
(Males: 40.7 years old, Females: 43.4 years old)
(Median age for: White residents: 42.5 years old, Black residents: 20.7 years old, American Indian residents: 61.5 years old, Asian residents: 31.3 years old, Hispanic or Latino residents: 34.1 years old, Other race residents: 43.8 years old)
Fair market rent in 2006 for a 1-bedroom apartment in Letcher County is $374 a month. Fair market rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $429 a month. Fair market rent for a 3-bedroom apartment is $533 a month.
Current college students: 858 People 25 years of age or older with a high school degree or higher: 75.6% People 25 years of age or older with a bachelor's degree or higher: 11.6%
Number of foreign born residents: 81 (31.3% naturalized citizens)
Letcher County:
0.3%
Whole state:
3.5%
Year of entry for the foreign-born population
72010 or later
302000 to 2009
81990 to 1999
401980 to 1989
61970 to 1979
34Before 1970
Mean travel time to work (commute): 25.9 minutes
Percentage of county residents living and working in this county: 72.4%
Housing units in structures:
One, detached: 7,650
One, attached: 77
Two: 116
3 or 4: 230
5 to 9: 138
10 to 19: 119
20 to 49: 64
50 or more: 40
Mobile homes: 3,236
Housing units in Letcher County with a mortgage: 2,407 (33 second mortgage, 29 home equity loan, 0 both second mortgage and home equity loan) Houses without a mortgage: 5,026
Here:
28.6% with mortgage
State:
58.7% with mortgage
Religion statistics for Letcher County
Religion
Adherents
Congregations
Evangelical Protestant
5,210
39
Mainline Protestant
929
7
Catholic
48
2
Other
-
1
None
18,332
-
Letcher County Religion Details
Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center.
Food Environment Statistics:
Number of grocery stores: 7
Letcher County:
2.92 / 10,000 pop.
State:
2.19 / 10,000 pop.
Number of convenience stores (no gas): 1
This county:
0.42 / 10,000 pop.
Kentucky:
0.74 / 10,000 pop.
Number of convenience stores (with gas): 4
Letcher County:
1.67 / 10,000 pop.
Kentucky:
4.36 / 10,000 pop.
Number of full-service restaurants: 3
This county:
1.25 / 10,000 pop.
State:
5.74 / 10,000 pop.
Adult diabetes rate:
Letcher County:
14.6%
Kentucky:
11.0%
Adult obesity rate:
Letcher County:
36.9%
State:
30.0%
Low-income preschool obesity rate:
Here:
19.5%
State:
15.9%
Agriculture in Letcher County:
Average size of farms: 62 acres Average value of agricultural products sold per farm: $3,931 Average value of crops sold per acre for harvested cropland: $827.82 The value of livestock, poultry, and their products as a percentage of the total market value of agricultural products sold: 33.16% Average total farm production expenses per farm: $5,750 Harvested cropland as a percentage of land in farms: 5.09% Average market value of all machinery and equipment per farm: $23,673 The percentage of farms operated by a family or individual: 95.65% Average age of principal farm operators: 53 years Average number of cattle and calves per 100 acres of all land in farms: 7.49 Corn for grain: 14 harvested acres Vegetables: 37 harvested acres Land in orchards: 5 acres
Earthquake activity:
Letcher County-area historical earthquake activity is near Kentucky state average. It is 79% smaller than the overall U.S. average.
On 7/27/1980 at 18:52:21, a magnitude 5.2 (5.1 MB, 4.7 MS, 5.0 UK, 5.2 UK, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 96.2 miles away from Letcher County center On 9/7/1988 at 02:28:09, a magnitude 4.6 (4.5 MB, 4.6 LG, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 90.7 miles away from the county center On 11/30/1973 at 07:48:41, a magnitude 4.7 (4.7 MB, 4.6 ML) earthquake occurred 112.5 miles away from the county center On 11/23/2006 at 10:42:57, a magnitude 4.3 (4.3 MB, 4.3 LG) earthquake occurred 46.3 miles away from the county center On 11/2/2006 at 17:53:02, a magnitude 4.3 (4.3 MB, Depth: 0.6 mi) earthquake occurred 49.5 miles away from Letcher County center On 4/18/2008 at 09:36:59, a magnitude 5.4 (5.1 MB, 4.8 MS, 5.4 MW, 5.2 MW, Depth: 8.9 mi) earthquake occurred 291.6 miles away from the county center Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)
Most recent natural disasters:
Kentucky Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, Incident Period: July 11, 2015 to July 20, 2015, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-4239: August 12, 2015, FEMA Id: 4239, Natural disaster type: Storm, Tornado, Mudslide, Landslide, Flood, Wind
Kentucky Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, Incident Period: March 03, 2015 to March 09, 2015, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-4218: May 12, 2015, FEMA Id: 4218, Natural disaster type: Snowstorm, Winter Storm, Mudslide, Landslide, Flood
Kentucky Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, Incident Period: February 15, 2015 to February 23, 2015, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-4216: April 30, 2015, FEMA Id: 4216, Natural disaster type: Snowstorm, Winter Storm, Mudslide, Landslide, Flood
Kentucky Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides, Incident Period: May 03, 2009 to May 20, 2009, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1841: May 29, 2009, FEMA Id: 1841, Natural disaster type: Storm, Tornado, Mudslide, Flood
Kentucky Hurricane Katrina Evacuation, Incident Period: August 29, 2005 to October 01, 2005, Emergency Declared EM-3231: September 10, 2005, FEMA Id: 3231, Natural disaster type: Hurricane
Kentucky Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides, Incident Period: May 26, 2004 to June 18, 2004, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1523: June 10, 2004, FEMA Id: 1523, Natural disaster type: Storm, Tornado, Mudslide, Flood
Kentucky Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock Slides, and Tornadoes, Incident Period: June 14, 2003 to June 27, 2003, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1475: July 02, 2003, FEMA Id: 1475, Natural disaster type: Storm, Tornado, Flood
Kentucky Severe Winter Storms, Incident Period: February 15, 2003 to February 26, 2003, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1454: March 14, 2003, FEMA Id: 1454, Natural disaster type: Winter Storm
Kentucky Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding, Incident Period: April 27, 2002 to May 10, 2002, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1414: May 07, 2002, FEMA Id: 1414, Natural disaster type: Storm, Tornado, Flood
Kentucky Storms and Flooding, Incident Period: March 17, 2002 to March 21, 2002, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1407: April 04, 2002, FEMA Id: 1407, Natural disaster type: Storm, Flood
16 other natural disasters have been reported since 1953.
The number of natural disasters in Letcher County (26) is a lot greater than the US average (13). Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 24 Emergencies Declared: 2
Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 20, Storms: 16, Tornadoes: 7, Mudslides: 6, Winter Storms: 4, Landslides: 3, Snows: 2, Snowstorms: 2, Winds: 2, Blizzard: 1, Flash Flood: 1, Freeze: 1, Heavy Rain: 1, Hurricane: 1, Snowfall: 1 (Note: Some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (6%)
Office and administrative support occupations (6%)
Office and administrative support occupations (16%)
Sales and related occupations (15%)
Education, training, and library occupations (12%)
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (11%)
Health technologists and technicians (8%)
Food preparation and serving related occupations (8%)
Management occupations (5%)
Mexico (27%)
Germany (20%)
China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan (19%)
Nepal (9%)
Honduras (4%)
Denmark (1%)
Scotland (0%)
American (30%)
English (6%)
German (4%)
Irish (3%)
Scotch-Irish (2%)
Polish (1%)
Scottish (1%)
Means of transportation to work:
Drove a car alone: 5,108 (84.4%)
Carpooled: 509 (8.4%)
Bus or trolley bus: 13 (0.2%)
Taxicab, motorcycle, or other means: 44 (0.7%)
Walked: 101 (1.7%)
Worked at home: 287 (4.7%)
People in group quarters in Letcher County, Kentucky in 2000:
184 people in nursing homes
37 people in local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups)
4 people in religious group quarters
People in group quarters in Letcher County, Kentucky in 2010:
120 people in nursing facilities/skilled-nursing facilities
59 people in local jails and other municipal confinement facilities
41 people in group homes intended for adults
23 people in other noninstitutional facilities
Average gross adjusted income of non-migrant taxpayers in this county in 2010 was $46,114.
3.02% of this county's 2011 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2010 ($29,014 average adjusted gross income)
Here:
3.02%
Kentucky average:
6.18%
10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries.
1.97% relocated from other counties in Kentucky ($19,763 average AGI)
1.05% relocated from other states ($9,256 average AGI)
Letcher County:
1.05%
Kentucky average:
2.68%
Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2010 and 2011:
3.57% of this county's 2010 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2011 ($33,363 average adjusted gross income)
Here:
3.57%
Kentucky average:
6.19%
10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries.
2.11% relocated to other counties in Kentucky ($19,402 average AGI)
1.47% relocated to other states ($13,961 average AGI)
Letcher County:
1.47%
Kentucky average:
2.68%
Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2010 and 2011:
Births per 1000 population from 1990 to 1999: 12.6 Births per 1000 population from 2000 to 2006: 12.4
Deaths per 1000 population from 1990 to 1999: 10.7 Deaths per 1000 population from 2000 to 2006: 12.3 Deaths per 1000 population from 2007 to 2014: 12.6
Infant deaths per 1000 live births from 1990 to 1999: 9.8 Infant deaths per 1000 live births from 2000 to 2006: 8.5
Population without health insurance coverage in 2013: 17.4% Persons under 19 years old without health insurance coverage in 2013: 6.7%
Percentage of population without health insurance coverage in Letcher County
Persons enrolled in hospital insurance and/or supplemental medical insurance (Medicare) in July 1, 2007: 5,388 (3,250 aged, 2,138 disabled) Children under 18 without health insurance coverage in 2007: 668 (13%)
Most common underlying causes of death in Letcher County, Kentucky in 1999 - 2014:
Acute myocardial infarction, unspecified (595)
Bronchus or lung, unspecified - Malignant neoplasms (436)
Stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction (147)
Pneumonia, unspecified (96)
Colon, unspecified - Malignant neoplasms (89)
Unspecified diabetes mellitus, without complications (87)
Alzheimer's disease, unspecified (78)
Population without health insurance coverage in 2000: 16% Children under 18 without health insurance coverage in 2000: 10%
Short term general hospitals per 100,000 population in 2004: 8.1 Short term general hospital admissions per 100,000 population in 2004: 23,970 Short term general hospital beds per 100,000 population in 2004: 575 Emergency room visits per 100,000 population in 2004: 117,166
General practice office based MDs per 100,000 population in 2005: 1,379 Medical specialist MDs per 100,000 population in 2005: 1,117
Total births per 100,000 population, July 2005 - July 2006 : 27 Total deaths per 100,000 population, July 2005 - July 2006: 65
Limited-service eating places per 100,000 population in 2005 : 4
Crimes per 100,000 population in 1996: 1
Suicides per 1,000,000 population from 2000 to 2006: 168.5. This is more than state average.
Deaths per 1,000,000 population:
Firearm - 151.0
Other - 17.4
Household type by relationship:
Households: 23,514
In family households: 19,946 (3,476 male householders, 3,612 female householders)
5,008 spouses, 5,797 children (5,462 natural, 186 adopted, 147 stepchildren), 960 grandchildren, 78 brothers or sisters, 102 parents, 402 other relatives, 452 non-relatives
In nonfamily households: 3,294 (1,250 male householders (1,080 living alone)), 1,658 female householders (1,511 living alone)), 365 nonrelatives
In group quarters: 247
Size of family households: 3,502 2-persons, 1,817 3-persons, 1,009 4-persons, 514 5-persons, 160 6-persons, 76 7-or-more-persons.
2,403 married couples with children.
1,483 single-parent households (224 men, 1,259 women).
99.0% of residents of Letcher speak English at home.
0.7% of residents speak Spanish at home (79% speak English very well, 18% speak English well, 2% speak English not well).
0.2% of residents speak other Indo-European language at home (59% speak English very well, 41% speak English well).
0.1% of residents speak Asian or Pacific Island language at home (33% speak English well, 67% speak English not well).
In fiscal year 2004:
Federal Government expenditure: $184,036,000 ($7,458 per capita) Department of Defense expenditure: $932,000 Federal direct payments to individuals for retirement and disability: $84,705,000 Federal other direct payments to individuals: $41,280,000 Federal direct payments not to individuals: $207,000 Federal grants: $51,743,000 Federal procurement contracts: $1,363,000 ($11,000 Department of Defense) Federal salaries and wages: $4,737,000 ($0,000 Department of Defense) Federal Government direct loans: $117,000 Federal guaranteed/insured loans: $448,000 Federal Government insurance: $4,518,000
Population change from April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005:
Births: 1,493
Here:
61 per 1000 residents
State:
69 per 1000 residents
Deaths: 1,586
Here:
65 per 1000 residents
State:
50 per 1000 residents
Net international migration: +3
Here:
+0 per 1000 residents
State:
+7 per 1000 residents
Net internal migration: -711
Here:
-29 per 1000 residents
State:
+8 per 1000 residents
Total withdrawal of fresh water for public supply: 1.16 millions of gallons per day (24% from ground, 76% from surface)
Median number of rooms in houses and condos:
Here:
5.9
State:
6.3
Median number of rooms in apartments:
Here:
4.7
State:
4.4
Year house built in Letcher County, Kentucky
1222014 or later
2352010 to 2013
1,6322000 to 2009
1,6961990 to 1999
1,6621980 to 1989
1,9151970 to 1979
1,0161960 to 1969
8901950 to 1959
7871940 to 1949
1,6261939 or earlier
Rooms in houses/apartments in Letcher County, Kentucky
Cars and other vehicles available in Letcher County in owner-occupied houses/condos
429no vehicle
2,0611 vehicle
2,6492 vehicles
1,5813 vehicles
3394 vehicles
3575+ vehicles
Cars and other vehicles available in Letcher County in renter-occupied apartments
487no vehicle
1,2641 vehicle
6152 vehicles
1863 vehicles
644 vehicles
05+ vehicles
90.4% of Letcher County residents lived in the same house 1 years ago. Out of people who lived in different houses, 44% lived in this county. Out of people who lived in different counties, 74% lived in Kentucky.
Letcher County:
90.4%
State average:
84.3%
Place of birth for U.S.-born residents:
This state: 19,340
Other state: 3,922
Northeast: 204
Midwest: 1,617
South: 1,957
West: 131
Most commonly used house heating fuel in Letcher County
Click here to upload your Letcher County photos (outside city limits)
(48.8%)
(51.2%)
, Hopkins County 
, Knox County 
, Surry County, Virginia 
, Colonial Heights city, Virginia 
0.38% ($26,444 average AGI)
+8 per 1000 residents
