county

Pocahontas County, WV

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

AI Overview

Pocahontas County is a small, rural West Virginia county of 7,855 residents with an economy characterized by low wages — median worker earnings of $25,191 and per capita income of $23,387 — against a GDP per capita of $34,234. The labor market is notably constrained, with a labor force participation rate of just 41.3%, an unemployment rate of 10.6%, and only 15.8% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $139,400 and median gross rent of $688/month, though the county faces structural headwinds including a 20.8% poverty rate and a population decline of 7.9% over five years, alongside a median age of 49.5.

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

Population

7,855

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$42,119

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

49.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-7.9% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone7,295 (93.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races233 (3.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race90 (1.2%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone77 (1.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone42 (0.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone37 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish29
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island10
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

17.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

26.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

752

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$34,234

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$23,387

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

10.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

20.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance565
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)387
  3. 3.Construction (Group)279
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services245
  5. 5.Public Administration (Group)215

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations717
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations636
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations449
  4. 4.Service Occupations391
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations287

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.29×)129
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.85×)215
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.56×)266
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.32×)353
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.26×)181

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$139,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$688/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

83.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999308 (11.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999253 (9.5%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999222 (8.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999210 (7.9%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999181 (6.8%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999173 (6.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

83.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

41.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$25,191

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone1,847 (74.6%)
  • Carpooled247 (10.0%)
  • Worked At Home226 (9.1%)
  • Walked97 (3.9%)
  • Other48 (1.9%)
  • Bicycle10 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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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.