Cost of living in Harlan, Kentucky

Harlan, Kentucky has about 2,160 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $89,200.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Harlan County is $909 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Harlan. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

Kentucky's prices sit at 90.2 when the U.S. average is 100. This place is not in a metro area with its own index, so this is the state number from BEA for 2024.

Kentucky taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 6.0% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Harlan's exact store tax.

Some places in Kentucky add a local wage tax. In 2023 the state average was about 0.93% of income. That is not a Harlan bill.

In July 2026, a typical Kentucky home paid 13.81¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Harlan's bill.

EIA does not publish a Kentucky gasoline price. For the week of October 12, 2026, the Midwest (PADD 2) all-grades price was $4.237 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,033.76 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Kentucky shares this price.

Among 216 places we list in Kentucky with a rent figure, 200 have higher typical rent than Harlan.