Kanawha County, WV

County

2024 Population

176,537

US Senator

Shelley Moore Capito

Republican Party

US Senator

Jim Justice

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

43.8

0.229% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

15.7%

2.29% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$60,943

3.49% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$147,300

Population & Diversity

Kanawha County, WV is home to a population of 177k people, from which 99.2% are citizens.

As of 2024, 2% of Kanawha County, WV residents were born outside of the country (3.53k people).

In 2024, there were 17.6 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (152k people) in Kanawha County, WV than any other race or ethnicity. There were 8.63k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 8.54k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

99.2%

2024 Citizenship

99.3%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 99.2% of Kanawha County, WV residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Kanawha County, WV was 99.3%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Kanawha County, WV compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Kanawha County, WV

White (Non-Hispanic)
152k ± 816
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
8.63k ± 701
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
8.54k ± 703

1.58%

Hispanic Population

2.79k people

1.58% of the people in Kanawha County, WV are hispanic (2.79k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Kanawha County, WV as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for West Virginia.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
2,614 ± 1,254 people
Philippines
2,231 ± 1,159 people
India
2,211 ± 1,154 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of West Virginia was Mexico, the natal country of 2,614 West Virginia residents, followed by Philippines with 2,231 and India with 2,211.

Foreign-Born Population

2024 Foreign-Born Population

3.53k people

1.8%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

3.21k people

As of 2024, 2% of Kanawha County, WV residents (3.53k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Kanawha County, WV was 1.8%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Kanawha County, WV compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
3,470 ± 378
Gulf War (2001-)
2,120 ± 457
Gulf War (1990s)
1,339 ± 267

Kanawha County, WV has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.64 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Kanawha County, WV.

Health

95.1% of the population of Kanawha County, WV has health coverage, with 43.2% on employee plans, 22% on Medicaid, 17.3% on Medicare, 11.3% on non-group plans, and 1.41% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Kanawha County, WV see 770 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (770 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1083 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 314 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.3% were men and 51.7% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

770 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Kanawha County, WV

Primary care physicians in Kanawha County, WV see an average of 770 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (770 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Kanawha County, WV in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Location of Health Services Facilities

Health Service Type

Top 5 Health Facilities Servicing the Greatest Number of Addresses

Health Practice Name
12345 Community Center Dr., Hayward, CA 94540 Census Tract # 4001
Health Practice Name
12345 Community Center Dr., Hayward, CA 94540 Census Tract # 4002
Health Practice Name
12345 Community Center Dr., Hayward, CA 94540 Census Tract # 4003
Health Practice Name
12345 Community Center Dr., Hayward, CA 94540 Census Tract # 4004
Health Practice Name
12345 Community Center Dr., Hayward, CA 94540 Census Tract # 4005

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 21.2% under 18 years, 18.8% between 18 and 34 years, 38.1% between 35 and 64 years, and 21.9% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.3% were men and 51.7% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

4.86%

Uninsured

43.2%

Employer Coverage

22%

Medicaid

17.3%

Medicare

11.3%

Non-Group

1.41%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Kanawha County, WV grew by 2.95% from 4.72% to 4.86%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Kanawha County, WV changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the average number of mentally unhealthy days reported in past 30 days (age-adjusted) was 6.71 in Kanawha County, WV.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Kanawha County, WV.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 40.3% in Kanawha County, WV.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Kanawha County, WV.

Clinical Care

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of population under age 65 without health insurance was 7.52% in Kanawha County, WV.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Kanawha County, WV.

Economy

The economy of Kanawha County, WV employs 76.5k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Kanawha County, WV were Health Care & Social Assistance (15,232 people), Retail Trade (9,058 people), and Public Administration (6,982 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($76,497), Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($71,350), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($64,883).

Employment

Occupations

76.5k

2024 Value

± 2,334

−0.519%

1 Year decline

± 4.3%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Kanawha County, WV declined at a rate of −0.519%, from 76.9k employees to 76.5k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Kanawha County, WV, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (10,091 people), Sales & Related Occupations (7,280 people), and Management Occupations (6,446 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Kanawha County, WV.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for West Virginia.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in West Virginia (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

76.5k

2024 Value

± 2,334

−0.519%

1 Year decline

± 4.3%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Kanawha County, WV declined at a rate of −0.519%, from 76.9k employees to 76.5k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Kanawha County, WV, are Health Care & Social Assistance (15,232 people), Retail Trade (9,058 people), and Public Administration (6,982 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Kanawha County, WV, though some of these residents may live in Kanawha County, WV and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$50,397

Median earning men ± $1,886

$40,358

Median earning women ± $1,503

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($69,250), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($67,862), and Public Administration ($62,653).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Wholesale Trade ($65,000), Construction ($56,215), and Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($51,981).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for West Virginia.

Y-Axis

0.583%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 690k people employed in West Virginia. This represents a 0.583% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 15%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in West Virginia.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

375
Other Services (except Public Administration)
259
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
221
Health Care and Social Assistance

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$1.16M
Health Care and Social Assistance
$354k
Finance and Insurance
$350k
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Education

The student population of Kanawha County, WV in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 4,159 male students and 4,860 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Kanawha County, WV are White (1,469 and 66.5%), Unknown (377 and 17.1%), Black or African American (165 and 7.47%), and Hispanic or Latino (90 and 4.07%).

The largest universities in Kanawha County, WV by number of degrees awarded are University of Charleston (1,119 and 50.3%), BridgeValley Community & Technical College (376 and 16.9%), and West Virginia State University (325 and 14.6%).

The most popular majors in Kanawha County, WV are Organizational Leadership (418 and 18.8%), Registered Nursing (357 and 16%), and Other Business Administration, Management, & Operations (147 and 6.6%).

The median tuition costs are $22,117 for private four year colleges, and $8,930 and $14,350 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Kanawha County, WV, the percentage of applicants admitted was 85.8%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 7.9%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 9,019 (46.1% men and 53.9% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 9,019 students enrolled in Kanawha County, WV, 46.1% men and 53.9% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 6,736 records, of which 57.3% were women and 42.7% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Organizational Leadership
412 degrees awarded
Registered Nursing
76 degrees awarded
General Business Administration & Management
72 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Kanawha County, WV was Organizational Leadership with 412 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Kanawha County, WV according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

University of Charleston
1,119 degrees awarded
BridgeValley Community & Technical College
376 degrees awarded
West Virginia State University
325 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of Charleston with 1,119 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 1,143 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Kanawha County, WV, which is 1.06 times more than the 1,083 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 1,469 degrees mean that there were 3.9 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Unknown, with 377 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($22,117) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Private for-profit, 2-year ($1,602) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($2,000) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Kanawha County, WV was $147,300 in 2024, which is 0.443 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $135,000 to $147,300, a 9.11% increase. The homeownership rate in Kanawha County, WV is 71.1%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Kanawha County, WV have an average commute time of 21.8 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Kanawha County, WV is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 11.8% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Kanawha County, WV. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 1.73%.

Housing

Property

$147,300

Median Property Value 2024

±$4,303

$54,328

Median Property Taxes

±$1,844

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Kanawha County, WV the largest share of households pay taxes in the < $800 range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Kanawha County, WV compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

71.1%

Homeownership

2024

65.6%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 71.1% of the housing units in Kanawha County, WV were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 70.2%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Kanawha County, WV compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$60,943

Median Household Income

± $1,546

76.5k

Number of Households

± 2,233

In 2024, the median household income of the 76.5k households in Kanawha County, WV grew to $60,943 from the previous year's value of $58,887.

The following chart displays the households in Kanawha County, WV distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Kanawha County, WV is from West Virginia.

0.443

2024 Wage GINI in West Virginia

0.443

2023 Wage GINI in West Virginia

In 2024, the income inequality in West Virginia was 0.443 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.0426% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for West Virginia was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in West Virginia in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in West Virginia across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (77.3%)
Worked At Home (9.64%)
Carpooled (7.71%)

In 2024, 77.3% of workers in Kanawha County, WV drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (9.64%) and those who carpooled to work (7.71%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

21.8 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Kanawha County, WV have a shorter commute time (21.8 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.76% of the workforce in Kanawha County, WV have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Kanawha County, WV compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Kanawha County, WV distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Kanawha County, WV have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 11.8% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Kanawha County, WV. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 1.73%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

15.7% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Kanawha County, WV (27.3k out of 173k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 35 - 44, followed by Females 25 - 34 and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Kanawha County, WV is White, followed by Two Or More and Black.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 18.7% of the children was living in poverty in Kanawha County, WV. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 3.9%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 616 in Kanawha County, WV. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator grew 117% per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

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