Signature · 1 LILA tracts (33.3% of tracts)
Leslie County, KY
Leslie County's signature pressure is desert tracts: 1 LILA tracts (33.3% of the book) alongside 8.4% low-access.
- 8.4%
- low-access pop.
- 1
- food-desert tracts
- 29.1%
- on SNAP
- 10K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Leslie County, KY
LA-MODERATE · BELOW-NATIONAL · LILA-SINGLE · SNAP-HEAVY · VEH-TYPICAL · DENSITY-DENSE
- LA-MODERATE 8.4% low-access
- BELOW-NATIONAL -13.7 pts vs US
- LILA-SINGLE 1 food-desert tract
- SNAP-HEAVY 29.1% SNAP
- VEH-TYPICAL 7.8% no vehicle
- DENSITY-DENSE 33% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Taylor County ( -0.2 pts)
Lower-band low-access
Leslie County lands in the lower national band (8.4%, #2,610 of 3,079); local tracts can still diverge from the county mean.
- #2,610
- national by low-access %
- #64
- in KY
- 1
- low-access tracts
- 558
- food-desert residents
Lower-band county means still leave tract outliers on the table below.
Signature read: 1 LILA tracts (33.3% of tracts) .
How Leslie County compares nationally
Leslie County lands in the middle of the national distribution: a 8.4% low-access share that beats 17% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data (rank #2,610).
Leslie County's lower-band USDA tier split
3 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 1 LILA.
All 3 of Leslie County's tracts are rural in the USDA classification, so every one is judged on the 10-mile test: a resident counts as low-access only when the nearest supermarket is more than 10 miles away.
Leslie 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
- Hart 9
Hart 9%
9 % low-access
- Leslie 8.4
Leslie 8.4%
8.4 % low-access
- Taylor 8.2
Taylor 8.2%
8.2 % low-access
- Jackson 8.1
Jackson 8.1%
8.1 % low-access
- Carlisle 7.9
Carlisle 7.9%
7.9 % low-access
- Ballard 0
Ballard 0%
0 % low-access
FARA 2019 · lower low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 3 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 11,310 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 1 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 1 |
| Low-Access Population | 950 |
| Low-Access Share | 8.4%well below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 558 |
ACS 2024 · elevated SNAP band
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 10,079 |
| Median Household Income | $35,934 |
| Poverty Rate | 30.3%well above the national average |
| SNAP Households | 1,232 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 29.1%well above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 7.8%near the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 3.6% |
SNAP retailers in Leslie County
Leslie County has 12 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 5 store categories. Combination Grocery/Other lead with 4 locations (33% of the total), followed by convenience store.
Where the store book sits, by town
4 towns share the 12 authorized stores; Hyden holds 67% of them. 3 of the 4 towns have no grocery-grade outlet, only convenience or dollar/combination stores: Essie, Hoskinston, Wooton.
| Town | SNAP stores | Grocery-grade |
|---|---|---|
| Hyden | 8 | 2 |
| Essie | 2 | none |
| Hoskinston | 1 | none |
| Wooton | 1 | none |
Combination Grocery/Other · 4
- dollar general 0086, hyden
- dollar general 19707, wooton
- family dollar store 969, hyden
- walgreens 17162, hyden
Convenience Store · 4
- couch's shell, hyden
- hyden double kwik 1038, hyden
- one stop market, hoskinston
- roberts market, essie
Small Grocery Store · 2
- hyden grocery, hyden
- vernon collett jr grocery, inc., essie
Large Grocery Store · 1
- hyden iga, hyden
Supermarket · 1
- houchen's save a lot 417, hyden
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 Leslie County vs Adair County → · All Kentucky counties →
Counties near Leslie County's lower low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Leslie 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 (8.4% here).
- Washington Parish, LA · 8.4% low-access
- Dickinson County, IA · 8.4% low-access
- Fountain County, IN · 8.4% low-access
- Levy County, FL · 8.4% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside KY (29.1% here).
- Halifax County, NC · 29.1% SNAP
- San Miguel County, NM · 29.2% SNAP
- Dougherty County, GA · 29.0% SNAP
- Washington County, GA · 29.4% 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.
Kentucky among East South Central states
Kentucky ranks 4th of 4 East South Central states by population-weighted low-access (19.8%). Leslie County, at 8.4%, runs 11.4 pts below the Kentucky rate.
- Tennessee 27.2%
- Mississippi 26.4%
- Alabama 24.5%
- Kentucky 19.8%
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted by state; divisions per the U.S. Census Bureau. National state map
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 Leslie County, KY are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 21131. 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.