County Maps US

Breathitt County, Kentucky

A county in Kentucky, ranked 89 of 120 by population.

CountyFIPS 21025

Within Kentucky
Breathitt County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Jackson, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
12,558
-1,143 (-8.3%) since 2020
Land area
492.4
square miles. A further 0.6% of the total area is water
Population density
25.5
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Jackson
Seat of county government.
Established
1839
186 years ago
Largest city
Jackson city
Population 2,054.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Breathitt County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Breathitt County, Kentucky from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 613 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Breathitt County ranks

Position among the 120 counties of Kentucky, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn KentuckyNationally
Population12,55889th of 1202,248th of 3,144
Land area492.4 sq mi12th of 1202,112th of 3,144
Population density25.5 per sq mi113th of 1202,052nd of 3,144
Median household income$34,808114th of 1203,119th of 3,143

Full data for Breathitt County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population12,558Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202013,701Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?13,721Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area492.4 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area2.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area495.3 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?25.5 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$34,808American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$70,300American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age42.8American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households5,464American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units6,575American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-108
136 births, 244 deaths
Net migration
-87
More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 6 areas bordering Breathitt County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Perry CountyKentucky39 mi26,555
Magoffin CountyKentucky34 mi11,110
Wolfe CountyKentucky27 mi6,298
Knott CountyKentucky21 mi13,321
Owsley CountyKentucky18 mi3,932
Lee CountyKentucky9.6 mi7,297

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 120 counties of Kentucky

Open the interactive Kentucky county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.