county

Wetzel County, WV

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

AI Overview

Wetzel County is a small, resource-oriented West Virginia county of 14,233 residents with a GDP per capita of $71,115 — well above its per capita personal income of $28,398 — suggesting significant industrial or extractive output relative to its workforce. The labor pool is limited, with a participation rate of just 46.6% and only 13.5% of adults holding a bachelor's degree, though median worker earnings of $35,581 and an unemployment rate of 5.8% reflect a modest but functional local economy. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $102,800 and median rent of $703/month, though the county has shed 8.8% of its population over five years and carries a 16.6% poverty rate.

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

Population

14,233

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$56,836

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

45.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-8.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone13,327 (94.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race362 (2.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races287 (2.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone70 (0.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone26 (0.2%)
  • Asian Alone6 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish34
  2. 2.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)18
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic16
  4. 4.Other Indo-European9
  5. 5.Arabic6

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

22.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

951

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$71,115

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,398

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,106
  2. 2.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities676
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)587
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)500
  5. 5.Construction (Group)495

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,536
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,009
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,008
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations873
  5. 5.Service Occupations755

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.79×)388
  2. 2.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 2.22×)658
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.52×)364
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.25×)440
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 1.23×)621

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$102,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$703/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

83.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999628 (12.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999527 (10.4%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999476 (9.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999471 (9.3%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999306 (6.0%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999274 (5.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

13.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

46.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,581

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,265 (83.8%)
  • Carpooled321 (6.3%)
  • Worked At Home204 (4.0%)
  • Walked156 (3.1%)
  • Other138 (2.7%)
  • Public Transit5 (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.