Photo: FatCat96 · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Payne Gap, KY: what to set up and who to call
Payne Gap has no town government of its own, so Letcher County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Letcher County School District. Tap water in most of Payne Gap comes from Letcher County Water District, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 22% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result below detection.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Payne Gap, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Payne Gap.
Power comes from Kentucky Power
Kentucky Power (Kentucky Power Co), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Payne Gap. Its homes paid an average of 15.9¢ per kWh in 2025, about $197 a month (its average across Kentucky).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Letcher County Water District
Letcher County Water District supplies Payne Gap: about 71% of residents live in its service area. About 29% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Knott Co Water & Sewer District and Jenkins Water System and Whitesburg Water Works and Perry County Water & Sewer as sellers) and serves 2,673 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 7,966 systems serving 1,001–3,300 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2024–Dec 2026, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. KY0670462.
2 home internet providers serve Payne Gap
100% of 144 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mikrotec CATV | Cable | 100% | 1,000/40 |
| Kinetic | DSL | 90% | 200/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Payne Gap’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Payne Gap.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Payne Gap (79%) is in Letcher County School District; parts are in Jenkins Independent School District (21%).
Test scores and every school: see Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Payne Gap is unincorporated, so Letcher County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Aug 2015; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Payne Gap is in ZIP code 41537
ZIP codes where Payne Gap residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Payne Gap | ZIP’s residents in Payne Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41537 | Jenkins, KY | 100% | 7% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Payne Gap
Who supplies Payne Gap’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Letcher County Water District (EPA ID KY0670462). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Payne Gap?
Kentucky Power (Kentucky Power Co), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 15.9¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Payne Gap?
Mikrotec CATV, Kinetic (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Payne Gap?
41537. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Payne Gap in?
Letcher County School District. Parts of the city are in Jenkins Independent School District.
How do I register to vote in Payne Gap?
In Kentucky you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before). Elections here are run by the Letcher County Clerk. Check your registration at vrsws.sos.ky.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.