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Home >> State of Kentucky >> Letcher County  

Welcome to Letcher County ...

Time Zone: Letcher County lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time.

The community of Whitesburg is the Seat for Letcher County.

Letcher County was founded in 1842. Letcher was created by taking area from Perry and Harlan Counties.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> Letcher had a population of 21,553 people. This is a decrease of 12.15% since the last Census (which gave a population of 24,534 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Letcher represented 0.57% of the total population of Kentucky.

Below are some of the communities located in Letcher County:

  • Blackey
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackey
    • Blackey is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
  • Fleming - Neon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fleming - Neon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming - Neon
    • Fleming - Neon is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
  • Jenkins
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
    • Jenkins is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,895 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jenkins <3>
  • Whitesburg
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
    • Whitesburg is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,813 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitesburg <3>

Websites of Interest ...

Footnotes ...

<1>On a yearly basis, the US Census Bureau creates an estimate of the county's population. Keep in mind that this is an estimate and not an actual count. The last physical count was the 2010 Census and the next count will be for the 2020 Census.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
 

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This page was last modified/updated: 13 Jul 2025