county

Kanawha County, WV

Demographic and economic profile of Kanawha County, WV, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Kanawha County, the most populous county in West Virginia at 178,198 residents, has a GDP per capita of $64,488 against median worker earnings of $39,618, suggesting an economy driven by higher-output industries relative to typical wages. The labor force participation rate is low at 55.8%, with 29.3% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher and an unemployment rate of 5.5%. Housing costs remain well below national norms—median home value of $135,000 and median gross rent of $879/month—though the county has shed 4.0% of its population over the past five years, with a poverty rate of 16.1%.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

173,906

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$60,943

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.0% since 2018

Kanawha County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone152,605 (86.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races8,807 (5.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone8,657 (4.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race3,279 (1.9%)
  • Asian Alone2,046 (1.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone826 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,123
  2. 2.Other Indo-European815
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island527
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic468
  5. 5.Arabic446

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

9,532

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$64,488

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,168

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance21,802
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)9,058
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services7,695
  4. 4.Public Administration (Group)6,982
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services5,572

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations32,285
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations17,371
  3. 3.Service Occupations12,881
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations8,620
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations5,370

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 1.91×)6,940
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.32×)1,614
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.19×)21,412
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.07×)3,887
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.07×)8,942

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$135,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$879/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

71.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9996,464 (11.9%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9995,356 (9.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9995,301 (9.8%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9994,796 (8.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9993,659 (6.7%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9993,544 (6.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

29.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

55.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,618

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

10.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone58,369 (77.3%)
  • Worked At Home7,280 (9.6%)
  • Carpooled5,824 (7.7%)
  • Walked2,221 (2.9%)
  • Public Transit941 (1.2%)
  • Other643 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

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