Signature · 6.2% low-access (12th pct)
Harlan County, KY
Harlan County lands in the lower national band on low-access (6.2%); supermarket distance is less binding than in the upper band, though local tracts can still diverge.
- 6.2%
- low-access pop.
- 1
- food-desert tracts
- 26.5%
- on SNAP
- 26K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Harlan County, KY
LA-ADEQUATE · BELOW-NATIONAL · LILA-SINGLE · SNAP-HEAVY · VEH-TYPICAL · DENSITY-THIN
- LA-ADEQUATE 6.2% low-access
- BELOW-NATIONAL -15.9 pts vs US
- LILA-SINGLE 1 food-desert tract
- SNAP-HEAVY 26.5% SNAP
- VEH-TYPICAL 8.1% no vehicle
- DENSITY-THIN 9% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Floyd County (+ 0.2 pts)
Lower-band low-access
Harlan County lands in the lower national band (6.2%, #2,749 of 3,079); local tracts can still diverge from the county mean.
- #2,749
- national by low-access %
- #76
- in KY
- 1
- low-access tracts
- 848
- food-desert residents
Lower-band county means still leave tract outliers on the table below.
Signature read: 6.2% low-access (12th pct) (-15.9 pts vs U.S. low-access).
How Harlan County compares nationally
Food access in Harlan County compares favorably nationally: its 6.2% low-access share is lower than the vast majority of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, higher than only 12% of them (rank #2,751).
Harlan County's lower-band USDA tier split
11 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 1 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, Harlan County has 2 urban and 9 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
Harlan County vs nearby low low-access peers
Poles + nearest peers in Kentucky, not a full county-board reprint
- Robertson
Robertson 74.8%
74.8 % low-access
- Fleming 6.6
Fleming 6.6%
6.6 % low-access
- Adair 6.5
Adair 6.5%
6.5 % low-access
- Floyd 6.4
Floyd 6.4%
6.4 % low-access
- Harlan 6.2
Harlan 6.2%
6.2 % low-access
- Wolfe 5.6
Wolfe 5.6%
5.6 % low-access
- Ballard 0
Ballard 0%
0 % low-access
FARA 2019 · lower low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 11 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 29,278 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 1 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 1 |
| Low-Access Population | 1,828 |
| Low-Access Share | 6.2%well below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 848 |
ACS 2024 · elevated SNAP band
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 25,772 |
| Median Household Income | $41,693 |
| Poverty Rate | 27.4%well above the national average |
| SNAP Households | 2,839 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 26.5%well above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 8.1%near the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 2.2% |
Thick SNAP store book in Harlan County
Harlan County has 42 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 5 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 18 locations (43% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 18
- a&a turners grocery inc, big laurel
- bear ridge market, evarts
- bella food and fuel # 1 1, coldiron
- ben's petroleum, llc, harlan
- c & s grocery, inc., cawood
- cumberland citgo, cumberland
- dewayne saylor's grocery, closplint
- evarts mini mart, evarts
- harlan kwik mart 1036, harlan
- harlan double kwik 2 1037, harlan
- harlan food mart, harlan
- hensley's grocery, wallins creek
- jerry's market, evarts
- lav inc, louellen
- loyall food mart 1, loyall
- rail house, totz
- speedway 9587, cumberland
- the red barn mini market, benham
Combination Grocery/Other · 14
- cvs pharmacy 6341, harlan
- dollar general 0308, cumberland
- dollar general 14248, coldiron
- dollar general 4874, harlan
- dollar general 16497, baxter
- dollar general 16959, evarts
- dollar general 24731, harlan
- dollar tree 8874, harlan
- family dollar store 530, cumberland
- family dollar 11632, bledsoe
- family dollar 11951, harlan
- family dollar 13259, coldiron
- family dollar store 4303, evarts
- roper's market, baxter
Supermarket · 4
- food city 437, harlan
- food city 468, cumberland
- houchens save a lot 173, harlan
- houchens save a lot 426, evarts
Small Grocery Store · 3
- brock's market, bledsoe
- cawood food mart, cawood
- value depot llc, harlan
Super Store · 3
- cash saver, harlan
- dons super saver inc, harlan
- walmart 1743, harlan
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in Kentucky
One of 119 counties in Kentucky, 6 are shown here.
Compare Harlan County vs Adair County → · All Kentucky counties →
Counties near Harlan County's lower low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Harlan County, both outside Kentucky so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside KY (6.2% here).
- Snyder County, PA · 6.2% low-access
- Snyder County, PA · 6.2% low-access
- Decatur County, TN · 6.2% low-access
- Decatur County, TN · 6.2% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside KY (26.5% here).
- Allen Parish, LA · 26.5% SNAP
- Allen Parish, LA · 26.5% SNAP
- Northampton County, NC · 26.4% SNAP
- Terry County, TX · 26.7% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
Harlan County inside a lower low-access state context
Harlan County sits inside Kentucky (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Harlan County, KY are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 21095. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.