Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 31,795. Its county seat is Barbourville. The county is named for General Henry Knox. It's a prohibition or dry county, with the limited exception of restaurants that seat at least 100, derive at least 70% of total sales from food, and are located in the portion of the city of Corbin that lies within Knox County. It is one of the few coal-producing counties in Kentucky not to experience massive population loss.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 388 square miles (1,004 km²), of which, 388 square miles (1,004 km²) of it is land and 0 square miles (0 km²) of it (0.01%) is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,795 people, 12,416 households, and 8,939 families residing in the county. The population density was 82 people per square mile (32/km²). There were 13,999 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile (14/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.84% White, 0.82% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 0.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 12,416 households out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were married couples living together, 13.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $18,294, and the median income for a family was $23,136. Males had a median income of $24,833 versus $18,390 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,660. About 29.60% of families and 34.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.40% of those under age 18 and 28.90% of those age 65 or over.