22,098 people (2024 Census estimate, −2.4% since 2020)
262 square miles of land · 84 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
1 active community water system list Johnson County in the area they serve, reporting 24,354 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| PAINTSVILLE MUNICIPAL WATER WORKS surface water · local government · KY0580340 | 24,354 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 192 people were held in Johnson County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 54.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
2 school districts have their office in Johnson County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $53.6 million — $46.3 million to run schools, about $13,833 per student, plus $6.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.1 million local (mostly property tax), $32.3 million state, $10.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $10.3 million.
Spent $13.4 million — $11.8 million to run schools, about $15,375 per student, plus $1.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.7 million local (mostly property tax), $6.8 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.8 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Johnson County about $20.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
99 bridges in Johnson County: 26 in good condition, 70 fair, and 3 poor (3.0%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| KY-825 over Jennys Creek · built 1975 | 1,101 vehicles a day |
| KY-469 over Gillum Branch · built 1975 | 214 vehicles a day |
| Dry Branch Rd over Little Paint Creek · built 1975 | 151 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $24.5 million of work in Johnson County in fiscal 2025, about $1,080 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Kentucky are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Johnson County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Johnson County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Kentucky: the state government and every county in Kentucky.
Nearby counties: Lawrence County (16 mi) · Magoffin County (17 mi) · Martin County (18 mi) · Floyd County (21 mi) · Elliott County (24 mi) · Morgan County (24 mi).