Real estate · County · Kentucky
Real estate businesses in Harlan County, KY
The real estate businesses in Harlan County, KY, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,549 of 2,229 scored counties
#68 of 75 scored counties in Kentucky
- Listings
- 11
- 4 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $130.6M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $12,172 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 274
- 2.7 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.3
- 73% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 24,725
- −7.6% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Harlan County
The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Harlan County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
As of September 2026, map listings count 11 real estate businesses in Harlan County. 4 of them (36%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. That is 10.3 per 10,000 households, 73% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Harlan County comes to about $130.6M a year: $12,172 per household, 27% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 2.7 times the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Harlan County: counts under 3 aren’t published. Official counts also show 17 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in Harlan County from 2020 to 2025 at −7.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Harlan County scores 41 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #1,549 of 2,229 scored counties and #68 of 75 scored counties in Kentucky.
How Harlan County compares
The same measures for Kentucky and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Harlan County | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.3 | 27.4 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 274 | 120 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 683 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +20.5% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −7.6% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $12,172 | $14,283 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $41,693 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 17Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 114 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 30The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Harlan County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in Harlan County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 24,725−7.6% since 2020
- Households
- 10,731
- Median age
- 40.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 466 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 55
- Median household income
- $41,693+57.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $55,003
- Median home value
- $73,700
- Jobs located here
- 5,743
- Daytime population
- 24,360Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Harlan County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Harlan County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Harlan County marked.
Top counties in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Harrison County, KY | 80 | 8 | 11.0 | 300 | +4.9% | #24 of 2,229 |
| 2Spencer County, KY | 80 | 12 | 16.4 | 233 | +7.7% | #28 of 2,229 |
| 3Lincoln County, KY | 76 | 9 | 9.3 | 328 | +4.6% | #84 of 2,229 |
| 4Grant County, KY | 73 | 7 | 7.6 | 429 | +4.7% | #136 of 2,229 |
| 5Hart County, KY | 72 | 8 | 10.8 | 278 | +4.3% | #161 of 2,229 |
| 6Woodford County, KY | 70 | 18 | 16.6 | 218 | +3.7% | #210 of 2,229 |
| 7Nelson County, KY | 70 | 30 | 15.7 | 213 | +4.8% | #211 of 2,229 |
| 8Anderson County, KY | 70 | 18 | 18.6 | 182 | +5.5% | #216 of 2,229 |
| 9Meade County, KY | 68 | 17 | 15.4 | 225 | +2.2% | #273 of 2,229 |
| 10Mercer County, KY | 67 | 13 | 14.2 | 230 | +4.8% | #301 of 2,229 |
| 68Harlan County, KY | 41 | 11 | 10.3 | 274 | −7.6% | #1,549 of 2,229 |
Other business types in Harlan County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in Harlan County, KY?
Harlan County has 11 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. No official count is published for real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Harlan County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts list 17 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Harlan County, KY spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $130.6M a year, or $12,172 per household. That is 27% below the U.S. average (an index of 73, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 11 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 2.7 times the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 10,731 households in Harlan County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Harlan County, KY compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
Harlan County has 10.3 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 73% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 274, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Harlan County would have about 30, against 11 on map listings.
How fast is Harlan County, KY growing?
Population estimates put Harlan County at 24,725 people in 2025, down 7.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,731 households. The median household income in Harlan County is $41,693 a year, 48% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 57.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Harlan County scores 41 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #1,549 of 2,229 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Harlan County. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Harlan County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Harlan County?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of Harlan County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.