Bell county was formed in 1867. It is located in the Eastern Coal Field region of the state. The elevation in the county ranges from 975 to 3500 feet above sea level. In 2010 the county population was 28,691 in a land area of 359.00 square miles, an average of 79.9 people per square mile.

The county seat is Pineville.

The Cumberland Gap is in Bell county, just south of Middlesborough, on the border between Kentucky and Tennessee.