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Payne Gap is a tiny town of 440 people in Letcher County, Kentucky. It's about 44 miles from Kingsport, TN and 169 miles from Charlotte, NC, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 81°F and winter highs 42°F, with about 37 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $67k and rent runs about $669 a month.
440people
$67kTypical home
$669/moRent
81° / 42°Summer / winter
37"Snow
209Sunny days
161Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 440
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 191 people per sq mi
- 169 mi to Charlotte, NC
- 44 mi to Kingsport, TN
- 44 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $67k (≈$425/mo)
- Median rent $669/mo
- Median household income $39k
- Property tax about 1.7% of value
- 11.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 81°F
- Winter highs around 42°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 62°F)
- 209 sunny days a year (68 totally clear)
- 156 cloudy days a year
- 53 of 90 winter days are gray
- 161 days a year with rain or snow
- 37" of snow a year
- 12 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 8 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (0 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (38 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 49
- 22% of households have kids
- 18% are 65 or older
- 8% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 49 mi to TRI airport
- 118 mi to TYS (major hub)
- 89 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 57% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1988
- 93% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 1,837 ft
- 297 mi to the ocean
- 160 mi to a big lake
- 37 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 31 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 5 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 43 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 3 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 9 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 13 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 26% of Kentucky districts (reading)
- 4 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 10 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 22 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 13 mi to the nearest vet
- 42 mi to the nearest dog park
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- 14 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Letcher County: R+64 in 2024
- Kentucky: R+31 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- Low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Limited data: this place is small enough that most of its Census numbers (rent, home value, income, age) are blended with county figures. Treat its match as a rough guide.