West Virginia

State

Add Comparison

2023 Population

1.78M

0.474% 1-year decline

US Senator

Shelley Moore Capito

Republican Party

US Senator

Jim Justice

Republican Party

2023 Median Age

42.7

0.235% 1-year increase

2023 Poverty Rate

16.6%

0.966% 1-year decrease

2023 Median Household Income

$57,917

4.89% 1-year growth

2022 Employed Population

688,138

2.84% 1-year decline

About

In 2023, West Virginia had a population of 1.78M people with a median age of 42.7 and a median household income of $57,917. Between 2022 and 2023 the population of West Virginia declined from 1.79M to 1.78M, a −0.474% decrease and its median household income grew from $55,217 to $57,917, a 4.89% increase.

The 5 largest ethnic groups in West Virginia are White (Non-Hispanic) (90.2%), Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (3.45%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (3.21%), Two+ (Hispanic) (0.835%), and Asian (Non-Hispanic) (0.747%).

None of the households in West Virginia 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.

The largest universities in West Virginia are American Public University System (14,167 degrees awarded in 2022), West Virginia University (6,534 degrees), and Marshall University (2,637 degrees).

Most people in West Virginia drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 26.6 minutes. The average car ownership in West Virginia was 2 cars per household.

West Virginia borders Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

About the photo: Autumn sunrise scenery from the Bear Rocks area of the Dolly Sods Wilderness near Davis, West Virginia (USA). HDR composite from multiple exposures.

Photo by Nicolas Raymond

United States

Population & Diversity

In 2023, there were 26.2 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (1.61M people) in West Virginia than any other race or ethnicity. There were 61.5k Two+ (Non-Hispanic) and 57.3k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Population by Location

Sex

RACE/ETHNICITY

The 3 PUMAS with the highest resident population

In 2022 there were 1,733,165 residents in West Virginia.

The Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA) with the highest resident population were Monongalia, Marion, Preston Counties PUMA, WV (191,687 people), Cabell, Putnam, Mason Counties PUMA, WV (177,026 people), and Wayne, Logan, Mingo, Boone, Wyoming, Lincoln, McDowell Counties PUMA, WV (176,841 people).

The following map shows all of the states in West Virginia colored by the resident population.

Residents by Gender and Age

RACE/ETHNICITY

866,906

Women

50%

866,259

Men

50%

The resident population of United States in 2022 was 1,733,165 inhabitants, with 50% men, and 50% women.

The visualization shows the distribution of the residents by gender and age in the United States.

With the upper buttons you can add a filter by race.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in West Virginia

White (Non-Hispanic)
1.61M ± 2.01k
Two+ (Non-Hispanic)
61.5k ± 2.35k
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
57.3k ± 1.48k

2.02%

Hispanic Population

36.1k people

2.02% of the people in West Virginia are hispanic (36.1k people).

The following chart shows the 7 races represented in West Virginia as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

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

1.71%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

30.5k people

1.61%

2022 Foreign-Born Population

28.8k people

As of 2023, 1.71% of West Virginia residents (30.5k people) were born outside of the United States, which is lower than the national average of 13.8%. In 2022, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in West Virginia was 1.61%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
38,930 ± 1,411
Gulf War (2001-)
22,439 ± 1,167
Gulf War (1990s)
15,989 ± 1,040

West Virginia has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.73 times greater than any other conflict.

Economy

The economy of West Virginia employs 688k people. The largest industries in West Virginia are General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals (49,766 people), Elementary & secondary schools (48,340 people), and Restaurants & Food Services (43,712 people), and the highest paying industries are Computer & peripheral equipment manufacturing ($151,305), Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments ($141,402), and Commercial & service industry machinery manufacturing ($105,076).

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 N/A, which is N/A than the national average.

Employment

Workforce Diversity

Measure

RACE/ETHNICITY

339,877

Women

47.6%

374,030

Men

52.4%

The workforce of West Virginia in 2020 was 713,907 people, with 47.6% woman, and 52.4% men.

The visualization shows the distribution of the workforce by gender and age in West Virginia.

With the upper buttons you can see the distribution of the average salary and add a filter by race.

Workforce and Wage by Location

Measure

RACE/ETHNICITY

In 2022 there were 688,138 people working in West Virginia. The Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA) that concentrated the largest workforce were Monongalia, Marion, Preston Counties PUMA, WV (86,539 people), Berkeley, Jefferson Counties PUMA, WV (74,338 people), and Kanawha County PUMA, WV (70,507 people).

The following map shows all of the PUMAs in West Virginia colored by workforce or average wage.

With the upper buttons you can see the yearly change and add a filter by race.

Occupations

688k

2022 Value

−2.84%

1 Year decline

± −2.84%

From 2021 to 2022, employment in West Virginia declined at a rate of −2.84%, from 708k employees to 688k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in West Virginia, are Driver/sales workers & truck drivers (21,806 people), Cashiers (20,340 people), and Registered nurses (18,581 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of West Virginia.

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

688k

2022 Value

−2.84%

1 Year decline

± −2.84%

From 2021 to 2022, employment in West Virginia declined at a rate of −2.84%, from 708k employees to 688k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in West Virginia, are General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals (49,766 people), Elementary & secondary schools (48,340 people), and Restaurants & Food Services (43,712 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of West Virginia, though some of these residents may live in West Virginia and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

N/A

Median earning men ± N/A

N/A

Median earning women ± N/A

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2023 are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($74,914), Public Administration ($64,373), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($62,535).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2023 are Public Administration ($49,264), Manufacturing ($42,887), and Wholesale Trade ($42,399).

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

2,857
Other Services (except Public Administration)
1,977
Construction
1,916
Retail Trade

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

$7.57M
Health Care and Social Assistance
$3.03M
Manufacturing
$2.56M
Retail Trade

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

Education

In 2022, universities in West Virginia awarded 37,097 degrees. The student population of West Virginia in 2022 is skewed towards women, with 66,619 male students and 67,742 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in West Virginia are White (25,560 and 70.6%), followed by Black or African American (3,672 and 10.1%), Hispanic or Latino (2,789 and 7.7%), and Unknown (1,924 and 5.32%).

The largest universities in West Virginia by number of degrees awarded are American Public University System (14,167 and 38.2%), West Virginia University (6,534 and 17.6%), and Marshall University (2,637 and 7.11%).

The most popular majors in West Virginia are General Business Administration & Management (3,719 and 10%), General Studies (2,761 and 7.44%), and Registered Nursing (1,702 and 4.59%).

The median tuition costs in West Virginia are $29,485 for private four year colleges, and $7,946 and $15,902 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2022 there were 134,361 students enrolled in West Virginia, 49.6% men and 50.4% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 90,530 records, of which 52.9% were women and 47.1% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Business Administration & Management
2,085 degrees awarded
General Studies
802 degrees awarded
General Psychology
777 degrees awarded

In 2022, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in West Virginia was General Business Administration & Management with 2,085 degrees awarded.

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

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

American Public University System
14,167 degrees awarded
West Virginia University
6,534 degrees awarded
Marshall University
2,637 degrees awarded

In 2022, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was American Public University System with 14,167 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2022, 18,335 men were awarded degrees from institutions in West Virginia, which is 0.977 times less than the 18,762 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 25,560 degrees mean that there were 6.96 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 3,672 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

Measure

In false, 0% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while 0% of women were in the same situation.

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

Educational Attainment

Race

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population of West Virginia in false were N/A.

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 West Virginia have an average commute time of 26.6 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in West Virginia is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Rent vs Own

74.3%

Homeownership

2023

65.9%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2023

In 2023, 74.3% of the housing units in West Virginia were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 74.2%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in West Virginia compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Income by Location

Use the dropdown to filter by race/ethnicity.

Race/Ethnicity

The following map shows all of the counties in West Virginia 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.

$57,917

Median Household Income

± $607

N/A

Number of Households

± 0

In 2023, the median household income of the N/A households in West Virginia grew to $57,917 from the previous year's value of $55,217.

The following chart displays the households in West Virginia 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

N/A Wage GINI in N/A

In N/A, the income inequality in N/A was N/A according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a N/A N/A from N/A to N/A, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat N/A even. The GINI for N/A was N/A than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed N/A evenly in N/A 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 (79%)
Carpooled (8.47%)
Worked At Home (7.97%)

In 2023, 79% of workers in West Virginia drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (8.47%) and those who worked at home (7.97%).

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

26.6 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in West Virginia have a longer commute time (26.6 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 3.64% of the workforce in West Virginia have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

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

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

16.6% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in West Virginia (288k out of 1.73M 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 18 - 24 and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in West Virginia 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.

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

93.8% of the population of West Virginia has health coverage, with 42.2% on employee plans, 22.3% on Medicaid, 15.7% on Medicare, 11.6% on non-group plans, and 1.93% 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

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, 48.9% were men and 51.1% were women.

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

Uninsured People

6.19%

Uninsured

42.2%

Employer Coverage

22.3%

Medicaid

15.7%

Medicare

11.6%

Non-Group

1.93%

Military or VA

Between 2022 and 2023, the percent of uninsured citizens in West Virginia declined by 3.11% from 6.39% to 6.19%.

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

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