Breathitt County, Kentucky

Breathitt County
County
Breathitt County Courthouse in Jackson
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°31′N 83°19′W / 37.52°N 83.32°W / 37.52; -83.32
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	1839
Named for	John Breathitt
Seat	Jackson
Largest city	Jackson
Area
• Total	495 sq mi (1,280 km2)
• Land	492 sq mi (1,270 km2)
• Water	2.9 sq mi (8 km2)  0.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	13,718
• Estimate  (2023)	12,953
• Density	28/sq mi (11/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	breathittcounty.ky.gov

Breathitt County (/ˈbrɛˌθɪt/ BREH-thit) is a county in the eastern Appalachian portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,718.^[1] Its county seat is Jackson.^[2] The county was formed in 1839 and was named for John Breathitt, who was Governor of Kentucky from 1832 to 1834. Breathitt County was a prohibition or dry county, until a public vote in July 2016 that allowed alcohol sales.^[3]