Charleston, WV

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

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2023 Population

207,456

19.6% 1-year decline

US Senator

Shelley Moore Capito

Republican Party

US Senator

Jim Justice

Republican Party

2023 Median Age

43.9

0.228% 1-year increase

2023 Poverty Rate

16.6%

3.96% 1-year decrease

2023 Median Household Income

$58,089

6.64% 1-year growth

2023 Employed Population

86,279

16.4% 1-year decline

About

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Charleston, WV are White (Non-Hispanic) (87.8%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (5.31%), Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (4.2%), Asian (Non-Hispanic) (1.05%), and White (Hispanic) (0.545%).

None of the households in Charleston, WV reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

99.4% of the residents in Charleston, WV are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Charleston, WV are University of Charleston (1,065 degrees awarded in 2022), West Virginia State University (400 degrees), and BridgeValley Community & Technical College (360 degrees).

Most people in Charleston, WV drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 23.8 minutes. The average car ownership in Charleston, WV was 2 cars per household.

Charleston, WV borders Beckley, WV, Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, and Logan, WV.

United States West Virginia

Population & Diversity

Charleston, WV is home to a population of 207k people, from which 99.4% are citizens. As of 2023, 1.59% of Charleston, WV residents were born outside of the country (3.3k people).

In 2023, there were 16.5 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (182k people) in Charleston, WV than any other race or ethnicity. There were 11k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 8.71k Two+ (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

99.4%

2023 Citizenship

99.4%

2022 Citizenship

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Charleston, WV

White (Non-Hispanic)
182k ± 716
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
11k ± 639
Two+ (Non-Hispanic)
8.71k ± 1.03k

1.34%

Hispanic Population

2.78k people

1.34% of the people in Charleston, WV are hispanic (2.78k people).

The following chart shows the 7 races represented in Charleston, WV as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

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

Most Common Origin

Mexico
2,064 ± 1,115 people
Germany
1,923 ± 1,076 people
China
1,815 ± 1,045 people

In 2022, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of West Virginia was Mexico, the natal country of 2,064 West Virginia residents, followed by Germany with 1,923 and China with 1,815.

Foreign-Born Population

1.59%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

3.3k people

1.49%

2022 Foreign-Born Population

3.83k people

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
4,465 ± 437
Gulf War (2001-)
2,480 ± 488
Gulf War (1990s)
1,713 ± 268

Charleston, WV has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.8 times greater than any other conflict.

Economy

The economy of Charleston, WV employs 86.3k people. The largest industries in Charleston, WV are Health Care & Social Assistance (16,920 people), Retail Trade (9,920 people), and Public Administration (7,676 people), and the highest paying industries are Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($75,893), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($73,447), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($67,482).

Males in West Virginia have an average income that is 1.33 times higher than the average income of females, which is $50,743. The income inequality in West Virginia (measured using the Gini index) is 0.449, which is lower than than the national average.

Employment

Occupations

86.3k

2023 Value

± 2,422

−16.4%

1 Year decline

± 4.59%

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Charleston, WV, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (10,935 people), Sales & Related Occupations (8,418 people), and Management Occupations (6,568 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Charleston, WV.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

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

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.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

86.3k

2023 Value

± 2,422

−16.4%

1 Year decline

± 4.59%

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Charleston, WV, are Health Care & Social Assistance (16,920 people), Retail Trade (9,920 people), and Public Administration (7,676 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Charleston, WV, though some of these residents may live in Charleston, WV and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$48,008

Median earning men ± $1,522

$37,168

Median earning women ± $1,069

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2023 are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($74,102), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($64,813), and Public Administration ($62,463).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2023 are Wholesale Trade ($63,000), Construction ($52,069), and Information ($49,970).

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

401
Other Services (except Public Administration)
266
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
241
Health Care and Social Assistance

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

Depending on the option selected, the visualization shows the number of employees or number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$1.22M
Health Care and Social Assistance
$359k
Finance and Insurance
$354k
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

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

Education

In 2022, universities in Charleston, WV awarded 2,289 degrees. The student population of Charleston, WV in 2022 is skewed towards women, with 4,264 male students and 4,848 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Charleston, WV are White (1,561 and 70.1%), followed by Unknown (305 and 13.7%), Black or African American (214 and 9.61%), and Hispanic or Latino (61 and 2.74%).

The largest universities in Charleston, WV by number of degrees awarded are University of Charleston (1,065 and 46.5%), West Virginia State University (400 and 17.5%), and BridgeValley Community & Technical College (360 and 15.7%).

The most popular majors in Charleston, WV are Organizational Leadership (348 and 15.2%), Registered Nursing (285 and 12.5%), and Other Business, Management, Marketing, & Related Support Services (203 and 8.87%).

The median tuition costs in Charleston, WV are $21,000 for private four year colleges, and $8,856 and $14,544 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Business Administration & Management
95 degrees awarded
Registered Nursing
62 degrees awarded
Organizational Leadership
341 degrees awarded

In 2022, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Charleston, WV was General Business Administration & Management with 95 degrees awarded.

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

Universities

Gender

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

University of Charleston
1,065 degrees awarded
West Virginia State University
400 degrees awarded
BridgeValley Community & Technical College
360 degrees awarded

In 2022, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of Charleston with 1,065 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2022, 1,171 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Charleston, WV, which is 1.05 times more than the 1,118 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2022 the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 1,561 degrees mean that there were 5.12 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Unknown, with 305 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.

Working Population

Educational Pyramid

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

Measure

In 2022, 0.661% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while 0.559% of women were in the same situation.

This visualization shows the gender distribution of the population according to the academic level reached.

Educational Attainment

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

Race

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population in 2022 were High School or Equivalent (549k), Some college (279k), and Secondary Education (210k).

This visualization illustrates the percentage distribution of the population according to the highest educational level reached. You can filter the data by race by using the selector above.

Housing & Living

People in Charleston, WV have an average commute time of 23.8 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Charleston, WV is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Median household income in Charleston, WV is $58,089. In 2023, the county with the highest Median Household Income in Charleston, WV was Jefferson County, WV with a value of $95,523, followed by Putnam County, WV and Berkeley County, WV, with respective values of $77,871 and $77,329.

Housing

Rent vs Own

N/A%

Homeownership

N/A

65.5%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2023

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

Equity

Income by Location

Use the dropdown to filter by race/ethnicity.

Race/Ethnicity

Highest Median Household Income (Total)

In 2023, the county with the highest Median Household Income (Total) in Charleston, WV was Jefferson County, WV with a value of $95,523, followed by Putnam County, WV and Berkeley County, WV, with respective values of $77,871 and $77,329.

The following map shows all of the counties in Charleston, WV colored by their Median Household Income (Total).

Household Income

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

$58,089

Median Household Income

± $1,580

N/A

Number of Households

± 0

The following chart displays the households in Charleston, 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 Charleston, WV is from West Virginia.

0.449

2022 Wage GINI in West Virginia

0.447

2021 Wage GINI in West Virginia

In 2022, the income inequality in West Virginia was 0.449 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.523% growth from 2021 to 2022, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat less even. The GINI for West Virginia was lower than than the national average of 0.478. 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 2023

Drove Alone (78.2%)
Carpooled (8.1%)
Worked At Home (8%)

In 2023, 78.2% of workers in Charleston, WV drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (8.1%) and those who worked at home (8%).

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

23.8 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Charleston, WV have a shorter commute time (23.8 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 2.88% of the workforce in Charleston, WV have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

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

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

16.6% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Charleston, WV (33.8k out of 204k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.4%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 35 - 44 and then Females 55 - 64.

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

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.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

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

Health

95.2% of the population of Charleston, WV has health coverage, with 41.5% on employee plans, 24.1% on Medicaid, 16.7% on Medicare, 11.3% on non-group plans, and 1.47% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in West Virginia see 1273 patients per year on average, which represents a 0.236% increase from the previous year (1270 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1713 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 616 patients per year.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

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

1,273 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in West Virginia

Primary care physicians in West Virginia see an average of 1,273 patients per year. This represents a 0.236% increase from the previous year (1,270 patients).

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

Health Care Diversity

In N/A, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in .

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, N/A were men and N/A were women.

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

Uninsured People

4.82%

Uninsured

41.5%

Employer Coverage

24.1%

Medicaid

16.7%

Medicare

11.3%

Non-Group

1.47%

Military or VA

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

Keep Exploring

West Virginia

State

Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH