state

West Virginia

Demographic and economic profile of West Virginia, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey).

Population

1,769,979

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$57,917

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Age

42.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.4% since 2018

West Virginia lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone1,622,009 (90.9%)
  • Two or More Races76,400 (4.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone58,519 (3.3%)
  • Asian Alone13,434 (0.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone12,055 (0.7%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone1,532 (0.1%)

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish18,939
  2. 2.Other Indo-European5,702
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic3,009
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island2,683
  5. 5.Arabic2,378

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Veterans

109,457

Census ACS · as of 2023

Economy

GDP per Capita

$45,404

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

89.6 (US=100)

Data USA · as of 2023

Per Capita Income

$32,949

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services & Health Care206,739
  2. 2.Retail Trade91,001
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation61,935
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management61,380
  5. 5.Manufacturing59,927

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations269,697
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations150,265
  3. 3.Service Occupations132,905
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations108,172
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations79,558

Census ACS · as of 2023

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.97×)23,258
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.48×)51,748
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.19×)206,739
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.13×)91,001
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.05×)45,655

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$155,600

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$850/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

74.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,99964,808 (12.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,99954,026 (10.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,99944,778 (8.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,99943,954 (8.2%)
  • $150,000 to $174,99940,945 (7.6%)
  • $175,000 to $199,99939,207 (7.3%)

Census ACS · as of 2023

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

23.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

53.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,136

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.6 min

Census ACS · as of 2023

Households Without a Vehicle

8.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone575,846 (79.0%)
  • Carpooled61,712 (8.5%)
  • Worked at Home58,070 (8.0%)
  • Walked18,688 (2.6%)
  • Taxi, Motorcycle, or Other8,855 (1.2%)
  • Public Transit4,372 (0.6%)

Census ACS · as of 2023

More on FDI Connect

Compare West Virginia against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.