Van Lear is an unincorporated community and coal town in Johnson County, Kentucky, United States.

Incorporated in 1912, the town was named for a director of Consolidation Coal Company (Consol), Van Lear Black.

Consol built five miles of railroad into the Johnson County property with money loaned by Van Lear Black's Fidelity Trust.

Most of the residents work in locations outside Van Lear, including the nearby cities of Paintsville, Prestonsburg, and Pikeville.

Since the end of local mining, only a handful of businesses continue to operate in the Van Lear area, including a bookstore, Icky's 1950s Snack Shop (located inside the Coal Miners' Museum), Mine number 5 store/Webb's store, (owned by Loretta (Webb) Lynn's family) and Blood Moon Security Solutions, a private security company.

The total population of the Van Lear postal district (including Butcher Hollow) is over 3000.