county

Wayne County, WV

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

AI Overview

Wayne County, WV has a population of 38,498 with a labor force participation rate of just 49.1% and an unemployment rate of 5.4%, reflecting a constrained but low-cost workforce where median worker earnings stand at $39,488 and only 17.7% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The county's population has declined 5.4% over five years, and a GDP per capita of $26,065 trails the median household income of $58,878, pointing to a locally oriented economy. Housing costs remain low, with a median home value of $124,900 and median gross rent of $883/month, alongside a homeownership rate of 78.6%.

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

Population

38,498

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$58,878

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-5.4% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone36,590 (95.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races589 (1.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race442 (1.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone366 (1.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone154 (0.4%)
  • Asian Alone17 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish310
  2. 2.Arabic142
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)81
  4. 4.Korean58
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island27

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,434

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$26,065

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,003

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance5,220
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,805
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,434
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)1,022
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,017

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations6,155
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations2,727
  3. 3.Service Occupations2,703
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,142
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,416

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.70×)576
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.44×)4,942
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.29×)897
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.21×)1,558
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.09×)1,749

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$124,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$883/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,417 (11.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,168 (9.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,161 (9.4%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999995 (8.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999890 (7.2%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999745 (6.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

17.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

85.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

49.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,488

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone11,843 (79.8%)
  • Carpooled1,408 (9.5%)
  • Walked696 (4.7%)
  • Worked At Home651 (4.4%)
  • Other191 (1.3%)
  • Public Transit48 (0.3%)

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.