county

Upshur County, WV

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

AI Overview

Upshur County is a small rural West Virginia county with a population of 23,758 that has contracted 3.4% over five years, reflecting broader regional demographic trends. The labor force participation rate is low at 50.4%, with only 17.4% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 5.8%; median worker earnings of $37,105 keep labor costs well below national norms. Housing remains accessible, with a median home value of $160,700 and median gross rent of $799/month, and an 80.7% homeownership rate, though an 18.3% poverty rate signals meaningful economic stress within the community.

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

Population

23,758

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$54,338

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.4% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone21,830 (92.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race904 (3.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races349 (1.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone317 (1.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone209 (0.9%)
  • Asian Alone88 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish94
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island59
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic35
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic16
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)14

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,411

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$32,944

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$30,616

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

18.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,777
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services958
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)829
  4. 4.Construction (Group)648
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities646

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,071
  2. 2.Service Occupations1,739
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,724
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,458
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,065

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.62×)529
  2. 2.Information (LQ 1.29×)221
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.26×)800
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.25×)2,667
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.19×)515

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$160,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$799/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

80.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,282 (16.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999958 (12.4%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999877 (11.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999726 (9.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999607 (7.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999543 (7.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

17.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

50.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,105

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

28.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,107 (80.6%)
  • Worked At Home968 (11.0%)
  • Carpooled301 (3.4%)
  • Walked257 (2.9%)
  • Other174 (2.0%)
  • Motorcycle8 (0.1%)

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.