# Leslie County, Kentucky: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Leslie County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Leslie County is home to Hyden. Next door, Perry County has 490 MW of planned generation. Employers here counted 1,446 jobs in 2025, down 9.7% from 2019. Unemployment was 4.8% in August 2026, against 5.9% in 2019. 9,627 people live here, down 8.1% since 2020.

-9.7%
total jobs since 2019, now 1,446

15.07¢
per kWh for Kentucky Power Co residential customers, 2024

9,627
residents, 2025

## Cities and towns in Leslie County

Leslie County is home to Hyden.

Hyden279 residents

Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities.

## What changed in Leslie County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Kentucky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 10,470 | 9,627 | ▼ 8.1% | 99th of 120 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,602 | 1,446 | ▼ 9.7% | 116th of 120 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $36,400 | $44,040 | ▲ 21.0% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 5.9% | 4.8% | ▼ 1.1pts | — |

Kentucky Power Co is the largest utility serving Leslie County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.07¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.21¢ median for Kentucky utilities.

## Who powers Leslie County

### Utilities with service territory in Leslie County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 130,852 | 15.07¢ | 27% |
| Jackson Energy Coop Corp - (KY) | Cooperative | Bundled | 49,423 | 13.66¢ | 14% |
| Cumberland Valley Electric, Inc. | Cooperative | Bundled | 22,478 | 12.87¢ | 28% |

Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.

No operating power plant is located in Leslie County in the EIA-860M inventory. Its power comes over the grid from plants elsewhere.

## The Leslie County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 1,446 | $44,040 | 1.00 |

Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out.

## Data centers and local rules in Leslie County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Leslie County. Kentucky has 44 local measures on record statewide, and 1 neighboring county has one: [Bell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/bell-county).

## Leslie County and its neighbors

Of the 4 counties that border Leslie County, Perry County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined.

[[[[

| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leslie County | 9,627 | ▼ 9.7% | — | — | — | — |
| Bell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/bell-county) | 22,829 | ▲ 2.3% | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| Clay County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/clay-county) | 19,465 | ▲ 4.4% | — | — | — | — |
| Harlan County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/harlan-county) | 24,725 | ▲ 1.3% | — | — | — | — |
| Perry County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/perry-county) | 26,555 | ▼ 1.9% | — | 490 MW | — | — |

## More of Kentucky

[All Kentucky countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky)[Perry County26,555 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/perry-county)[Harlan County24,725 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/harlan-county)[Bell County22,829 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/bell-county)[Clay County19,465 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/clay-county)

## Leslie County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Leslie County, Kentucky?

3 utilities have service territory in Leslie County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Kentucky Power Co, Jackson Energy Coop Corp - (KY), Cumberland Valley Electric, Inc.. The largest, Kentucky Power Co, charged residential customers 15.07¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### Are there data centers in Leslie County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Leslie County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Perry County.

### Is Leslie County adding jobs?

Employers counted 1,446 jobs in 2025 against 1,602 in 2019 (-9.7%, BLS QCEW).

### Does Leslie County have a data center moratorium?

No county-level measure is on record for Leslie County. Kentucky has 44 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/leslie-county
Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).