It is one of the few coal-producing counties in Kentucky that has not suffered massive population loss.

Knox County is included in the Corbin, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area.

[5][6][7][8] The Civil War Battle of Barbourville was fought on September 19, 1861, between 800 Confederate soldiers from General Felix Zollicoffer's command and 300 Union troops who attempted to defend the Union's Camp Andrew Johnson.

Unlike other areas of southeastern Kentucky, it has continued to maintain jobs and much of its population.

But the highest-paying jobs are with mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.

Real estate sales, and rental and leasing also pay well, followed by finance and insurance.

The only Democrat to carry Knox County since then has been Lyndon Johnson during his 1964 landslide.

On the state level, Knox County has historically been strongly Republican, having only voted for the Democratic candidate for Governor six times since 1900.

[23] In the game, Knox County is where the outbreak begins, before spreading globally in a matter of weeks.