Payne GapKY
The town, settled in 1935, counts 440 residents.
Is Payne Gap a good place to live?
No town among the 143 in Kentucky we compare has a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Payne Gap. 11% of the land in Payne Gap is conserved, above both the Kentucky town median (1.7%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Payne Gap has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
440 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Payne Gap: who provides what
Payne Gap is unincorporated, so Letcher County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Payne Gap.
Very high risk in Payne Gap, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 83% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 85% of Payne Gap’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 5% to cold waves.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Payne Gap’s workers commute out
Payne Gap: 15% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Whitesburg (19%), Pikeville (9%) and Hazard (7%). Half of commuters travel less than 27 miles.
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Compared with most of Kentucky and the rest of the country, a typical July afternoon in Payne Gap is cooler
The seasons in Payne Gap: chilly, snowy winters, pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 25° and about 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Payne Gap keeps 11.4% of its land conserved
1.0 miles of trail. For Payne Gap, the density of trails is 0.4 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
More of Payne Gap’s adults report frequent physical distress than in the typical Kentucky or U.S. town
Among adults in Payne Gap, 31% have been diagnosed with depression. Of the 142 Kentucky towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Payne Gap.
| Payne Gap | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 23% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 18% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Payne Gap | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 10.8% | 14.2% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 85.4% | 81.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 47.5% | 18.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Payne Gap
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Payne Gap
About 0 of every 100 Payne Gap residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
100% of working residents leave Payne Gap for work
Where Payne Gap’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Payne Gap
Unincorporated community in Kentucky, United States
Payne Gap is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Letcher County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, Payne Gap had a population of 347. U.S. Route 119 passes through the community.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,762 ft
Questions about Payne Gap
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Payne Gap, KY a good place to live?
Payne Gap has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.