Johnson County, Kentucky

Johnson County is a county in Kentucky, United States, in the Appalachian foothills about 12
miles south of the Lawrence County line and 120 miles east of Lexington. It had a population of
22,680 at the 2020 census, an estimated 22,051 by 2025, and covers 262 square miles (680 km2)
centred near 37°50′N 82°50′W.

Paintsville is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated city; its postal code is 41240.
The county holds 1 city, 2 census-designated places and 41 smaller unincorporated communities,
and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 21115.

Towns & Villages in Johnson County

Johnson County has 44 named places on record: 1 incorporated city, 2 census-designated places
(CDPs) with no local government of their own, and 41 unincorporated communities — most of
them former post-office towns along the Levisa Fork and its side creeks. CDP stands for census
designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.

Van Lear and West Van Lear read as one community on the ground — both grew up around the
Consolidation Coal Company’s Van Lear mines and sit less than a mile apart — but the Census
Bureau tracks them as two separate CDPs, each with its own population count and ZIP code.

ZIP Codes

• 41240 — Paintsville
• 41265 — Van Lear
• 41268 — West Van Lear
• 41222 — Hager Hill
• 41219 — Flat Gap
• 41256 — Staffordsville
• 41216 — East Point
• 41260 — Thelma
• 41238 — Oil Springs
• 41254 — River
• 41255 — Sitka
• 41257 — Stambaugh
• 41274 — Wittensville
• 41204 — Boonscamp (also serves nearby Chandlerville)
• 41271 — Williamsport
• 41226 — Keaton
• 41263 — Tutor Key
• 41234 — Meally

The remaining 23 unincorporated communities — Asa, Chestnut, Collista, Denver, Dobson,
Elna, Fuget, Hammond Creek, Hargis, Kerz, Leander, Low Gap, Manila, Nero, Nippa, Odds, Offutt,
Redbush, Riceville, Sip, Swamp Branch, Thealka, Volga and Whitehouse — have no ZIP code of
their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest post-office town’s code.

Geography

Johnson County sits in the eastern Kentucky coalfield, a landscape of narrow ridges and creek
hollows cut by the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. Of its 262 square miles, roughly 260 are
land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2), about 0.8 percent, are water — almost entirely the
Levisa Fork and its tributaries, since the county has no large lake. Stuffley Knob, at 1,496 feet,
is the county’s highest point; the Levisa Fork near the Lawrence County line, around 550 feet, is
its lowest.

Lawrence County lies to the north, Martin County to the east, Floyd County to the south,
Magoffin County to the southwest and Morgan County to the northwest. Lawrence County, Martin County, Floyd County, Magoffin County and Morgan County all border Johnson
County directly.

Demographics

Johnson County had a population of 22,680 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 22,051 residents. Paintsville and the Van Lear/West Van Lear CDPs together account for
about a quarter of the county’s population, with the rest spread across the unincorporated creek
communities. Median household income runs $44,904, well below Kentucky’s statewide figure of
$61,118 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 87 people per square mile of land, low
even by the standards of rural eastern Kentucky, reflecting the county’s steep, thinly settled
terrain.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about 1,639
workers, followed by retail trade at 1,515 and educational services at 894. Paintsville ARH
Hospital anchors much of that health care employment, and Big Sandy Community and Technical
College’s Paintsville campus is the county’s main higher-education institution. Johnson County is
a “moist” county under Kentucky’s alcohol laws — countywide sales are banned, but Paintsville
itself, as a “wet” city, permits alcoholic beverage sales within its limits. The county’s biggest
annual event is the Kentucky Apple Festival, held the first full weekend of October in downtown
Paintsville, with a parade, carnival rides, pageants and a car show.

History

The Kentucky General Assembly established Johnson County on February 24, 1843, from land taken
out of Floyd, Lawrence and Morgan counties. It was named for Richard Mentor Johnson, a War of 1812
colonel who went on to serve as a U.S. Representative, Senator and Vice President. Paintsville was
founded the same year as Paint Lick Station, an earlier settlement dating to 1834, and became the
new county’s seat.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway opened its Paintsville depot on September 1, 1904, linking the
county to outside markets and setting off decades of coal development. Van Lear was incorporated
in 1912 as a company town for the Consolidation Coal Company, whose five underground mines
employed miners from across Appalachia and abroad until the last of them closed in 1946. Country
singer Loretta Lynn grew up nearby in Butcher Hollow and drew on the Van Lear mines for some of her
best-known songs; her sisters Crystal Gayle and Peggy Sue also became country singers.

Getting There

U.S. Routes 23 and 460 cross the county, along with Kentucky Routes 3, 40 and 321; a U.S. 23
bypass around Paintsville connects to Interstate 64 to the north. No interstate highway passes
directly through the county.

• Prestonsburg — about 15 miles south
• Pikeville — about 35 miles southeast
• Huntington, West Virginia — about 60 miles northeast
• Lexington — about 120 miles west

Big Sandy Regional Airport, just over the line in neighboring Martin County, offers general
aviation and a 5,000-foot runway. Tri-State Airport, roughly 55 miles away in Ceredo, West
Virginia, is the nearest airport with commercial service. Amtrak’s Cardinal line does not reach
eastern Kentucky; the nearest station is across the Ohio River in Huntington, West Virginia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Johnson County located?
It sits in eastern Kentucky’s coalfield region, bordered by Lawrence, Martin, Floyd, Magoffin and
Morgan counties, about 120 miles east of Lexington.

What is the population of Johnson County?
22,680 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 22,051.

How big is Johnson County?
262 square miles (680 km2), of which about 260 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Johnson County?
Paintsville is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated city.

How many towns and communities are in Johnson County?
One incorporated city, Paintsville, plus two census-designated places, Van Lear and West Van
Lear, and 41 unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Johnson County use?
41240 for Paintsville, 41265 and 41268 for Van Lear and West Van Lear, and 15 more covering
smaller communities such as Hager Hill, Flat Gap and Staffordsville.

What is Johnson County known for?
The Van Lear coal mines and their connection to Loretta Lynn, and the annual Kentucky Apple
Festival held each October in Paintsville.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Kentucky.