Irvine is located in the center of Estill County at . The city limits are on the northeast side of the Kentucky River, and the city is bordered by Ravenna to the southeast. According to the United States Census Bureau, Irvine has a total area of, of which is land and, or 5.13%, is water. Kentucky Route 89 passes through Irvine as Main Street; Route 52 enters from the east as River Drive, then joins Route 89 to cross the Kentucky River. Route 89 leads north to Winchester and south to McKee, while Route 52 leads southeast to Beattyville and west to Richmond.
History
established the town of Irvine on of his land on January 28, 1812, four years after Estill County was separated from Madison County. It was named for Col. William Irvine, a pioneer settler of Madison County. The post office was established in 1813, and the city was incorporated by the state legislature in 1849. On October 13, 1864, Irvine was sacked by Confederate guerrillas who razed its jail. Even by Kentucky standards, Irvine remained small until the 1870s, when its population passed 300. Connection to the Louisville & Nashville Railroad's North Fork, as well as an early-20th century coal boom around the city, greatly increased the local population.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,843 people, 1,259 households, and 793 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 1,409 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 99.26% White, 0.04% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.04% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population. There were 1,259 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were married couplesliving together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.82. 22.9% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $20,286, and the median income for a family was $25,046. Males had a median income of $28,988 versus $17,194 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,075. About 20.9% of families and 28.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.
