Preston County, WV

County

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2024 Population

34,160

US Senator

Shelley Moore Capito

Republican Party

US Senator

Jim Justice

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

43.3

0.231% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

13.8%

2.68% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$61,880

0.826% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$162,800

3.23% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

13,547

0.879% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Preston County, 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.

98.9% of the residents in Preston County, WV are U.S. citizens.

In 2024, the median property value in Preston County, WV was $162,800, and the homeownership rate was 81.5%.

Most people in Preston County, WV drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 31.1 minutes. The average car ownership in Preston County, WV was 2 cars per household.

Preston County, WV borders Garrett County, MD, Fayette County, PA, Barbour County, WV, Grant County, WV, Monongalia County, WV, Taylor County, WV, and Tucker County, WV.

United States West Virginia Morgantown, WV

Population & Diversity

Preston County, WV is home to a population of 34.2k people, from which 98.9% are citizens. As of 2024, 1.56% of Preston County, WV residents were born outside of the country (534 people).

In 2024, there were 13.5 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (29.8k people) in Preston County, WV than any other race or ethnicity. There were 2.21k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 870 Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.9%

2024 Citizenship

98.9%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 98.9% of Preston County, WV residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Preston County, WV was 98.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Preston County, WV

White (Non-Hispanic)
29.8k ± 436
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
2.21k ± 102
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
870 ± 243

1.94%

Hispanic Population

661 people

1.94% of the people in Preston County, WV are hispanic (661 people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Preston 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

India
2,277 ± 1,171 people
Mexico
2,211 ± 1,154 people
Germany
1,987 ± 1,094 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of West Virginia was India, the natal country of 2,277 West Virginia residents, followed by Mexico with 2,211 and Germany with 1,987.

Foreign-Born Population

1.56%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

534 people

1.48%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

506 people

As of 2024, 1.56% of Preston County, WV residents (534 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 Preston County, WV was 1.48%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
517 ± 133
Gulf War (2001-)
459 ± 154
Gulf War (1990s)
405 ± 125

Preston County, WV has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.13 times greater than any other conflict.

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

Economy

The economy of Preston County, WV employs 13.5k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Preston County, WV were Health Care & Social Assistance (2,763 people), Retail Trade (1,524 people), and Educational Services (1,327 people), and the highest paying industries were Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($77,008), Information ($64,563), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($62,000).

Employment

Occupations

13.5k

2024 Value

± 779

0.879%

1 Year growth

± 8.1%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Preston County, WV grew at a rate of 0.879%, from 13.4k employees to 13.5k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Preston County, WV, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (1,612 people), Construction & Extraction Occupations (1,184 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (1,140 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Preston 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

13.5k

2024 Value

± 779

0.879%

1 Year growth

± 8.1%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Preston County, WV grew at a rate of 0.879%, from 13.4k employees to 13.5k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Preston County, WV, are Health Care & Social Assistance (2,763 people), Retail Trade (1,524 people), and Educational Services (1,327 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Preston County, WV, though some of these residents may live in Preston County, WV and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$47,751

Median earning men ± $3,307

$33,060

Median earning women ± $2,952

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($87,708), Information ($79,773), and Public Administration ($72,500).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Information ($63,313), Wholesale Trade ($46,250), and Public Administration ($41,288).

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

59
Construction
38
Other Services (except Public Administration)
27
Retail Trade

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

$40.6k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$35.7k
Construction
$29.6k
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services

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

Housing & Living

The median property value in Preston County, WV was $162,800 in 2024, which is 0.489 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $157,700 to $162,800, a 3.23% increase. The homeownership rate in Preston County, WV is 81.5%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Preston County, WV have an average commute time of 31.1 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Preston County, WV is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 8.95% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Preston County, WV. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 0.947%.

Housing

Property

$162,800

Median Property Value 2024

±$6,962

$10,438

Median Property Taxes

±$589

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 Preston County, WV the largest share of households pay taxes in the < $800 range.

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

Rent vs Own

81.5%

Homeownership

2024

65%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 81.5% of the housing units in Preston County, WV were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 80.6%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Preston 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.

$61,880

Median Household Income

± $4,690

12.8k

Number of Households

± 726

In 2024, the median household income of the 12.8k households in Preston County, WV grew to $61,880 from the previous year's value of $61,373.

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

0.443

2023 Wage GINI in West Virginia

0.449

2022 Wage GINI in West Virginia

In 2023, the income inequality in West Virginia was 0.443 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 1.39% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for West Virginia was lower than than the national average of 0.476. 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 (76.1%)
Carpooled (12.8%)
Worked At Home (8.64%)

In 2024, 76.1% of workers in Preston County, WV drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (12.8%) and those who worked at home (8.64%).

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

31.1 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Preston County, WV have a longer commute time (31.1 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 3.48% of the workforce in Preston County, WV have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Preston 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 Preston County, WV distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Preston County, WV have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 8.95% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Preston County, WV. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 0.947%.

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

Poverty & Diversity

13.8% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Preston County, WV (4.16k out of 30.2k 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 45 - 54, followed by Females 25 - 34 and then Females 65 - 74.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Preston 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, 21.9% of the children was living in poverty in Preston County, WV. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 1.2%.

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
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.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 230 in Preston County, WV. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator declined 37.3 per 100,000 population.

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

Health

92.1% of the population of Preston County, WV has health coverage, with 42.6% on employee plans, 19.7% on Medicaid, 16.7% on Medicare, 11.3% on non-group plans, and 1.79% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Preston County, WV see 2,643 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (2,643 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 3797 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 2623 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.6% were men and 50.4% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

2,643 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Preston County, WV

Primary care physicians in Preston County, WV see an average of 2,643 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (2,643 patients).

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

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 20.9% under 18 years, 17.8% between 18 and 34 years, 39% between 35 and 64 years, and 22.3% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.6% were men and 50.4% were women.

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

Uninsured People

7.86%

Uninsured

42.6%

Employer Coverage

19.7%

Medicaid

16.7%

Medicare

11.3%

Non-Group

1.79%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Preston County, WV grew by 14.4% from 6.87% to 7.86%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Preston 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 number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 65.4 in Preston County, WV.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Preston 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 41% in Preston County, WV.

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