county

Ritchie County, WV

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

AI Overview

Ritchie County is a small, rural West Virginia county of 8,372 residents with an economy that generates a notably high GDP per capita of $78,702 against median worker earnings of only $33,423, a gap that points to capital-intensive extraction industries rather than broad wage-based employment. The labor force is limited — participation sits at just 43.1% — and only 12.8% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while unemployment is unusually low at 1.7%. Housing costs are minimal, with a median home value of $107,800 and median gross rent of $583/month, but the county has shed 15.7% of its population over five years, and a poverty rate of 21.7% reflects persistent economic stress alongside the high per-capita output.

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

Population

8,372

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$50,582

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

46.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-15.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone8,051 (97.2%)
  • Asian Alone111 (1.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races107 (1.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone9 (0.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race7 (0.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish110
  2. 2.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)49
  3. 3.Other Indo-European41
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

466

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$78,702

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$26,336

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

1.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

21.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)508
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance451
  3. 3.Public Administration (Group)405
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)331
  5. 5.Construction (Group)298

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations771
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations673
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations634
  4. 4.Service Occupations607
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations499

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.81×)273
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 2.98×)414
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.49×)304
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.19×)349
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.07×)344

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$107,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$583/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

84.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999450 (15.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999227 (8.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999214 (7.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999187 (6.6%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999179 (6.3%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999171 (6.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

12.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

84.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

43.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$33,423

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

33.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,414 (77.0%)
  • Carpooled372 (11.9%)
  • Worked At Home306 (9.8%)
  • Walked29 (0.9%)
  • Other8 (0.3%)
  • Motorcycle6 (0.2%)

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.