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West Virginia Population

West Virginia (U.S. abbreviation WV) is located in southern region of United States, borders Maryland to the east, Virginia to the southeast, Pennsylvania to the north, Kentucky to the southwest and Ohio to the northwest. West Virginia population in 2021 is 1.77 million, it is 38th populous state in the US. Its area is 24,230 square miles (62,755 sq km), 41st largest state by area rank. West Virginia is formed after breaking away with Virginia and admitted to union in 1863. Organ Cave is the largest natural cave in West Virginia and the third largest cave in the US. West Virginia is located within the Appalachian Region, and the state is mostly mountainous and is a coal rich state and nickname is Mountain state.

WV population in 2020 is 1.7 million people living in the state.
YearPopulation% Change
20101,854,214
20111,856,0740.10
20121,856,7640.04
20131,853,873-0.16
20141,849,467-0.24
20151,841,996-0.40
20161,830,929-0.60
20171,817,048-0.76
20181,805,832-0.62
2019*1,794,094-0.65
2020*1,781,453-0.70
2021*1,770,799-0.59
Source : Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018

West Virginia Population by Race & Groups

According to 2017 census estimates, 93.3% are White Americans, followed by 3.56% are Black Americans, 0.181 are AIAN, 0.77% are Asian population, 0.03% are NHPI and 1.47 are Hispanic/Latino. Of the 14,096 Asian population, 3,811 are Indians from South Asia, 2,610 are Filipinos, 3,202 are Chinese, 650 are Japanese, 1,114 are Vietnamese and 1,036 are Koreans. 541 are NHPI, of these 293 are Native Hawaiians, 20 are Guamanian or Chamorro, 160 are Samoans. 27,021 are Hispanic/Latino race, of these 11,928 are Mexicans, 5,747 are Puerto Ricans, 1,409 are Cubans. Natives include 1,480 of Cherokee people, 56 are Chippewa, 9 are Navajo and 137 are Sioux tribal grouping.

Total Population1,836,843Percent
White1,714,59193.34%
Black or African American65,3003.56%
American Indian and Alaska Native3,3220.181%
Cherokee tribal grouping1,4800.081%
Chippewa tribal grouping560.003%
Navajo tribal grouping90.000%
Sioux tribal grouping1370.007%
Asian Population14,0960.77%
Asian Indian3,8110.21%
Chinese3,2020.17%
Filipino2,6100.14%
Japanese6500.04%
Korean1,0360.06%
Vietnamese1,1140.06%
Other Asian Population1,673
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander5410.03%
Native Hawaiian2930.016%
Guamanian or Chamorro200.001%
Samoan1600.009%
Other Pacific Islander68
Some other race7,193
Hispanic or Latino27,0211.47%
Mexican11,9280.65%
Puerto Rican5,7470.31%
Cuban1,4090.08%
Other Hispanic or Latino7,937

Source: US Census 2017(Table B03002)

Top Cities of West Virginia

The top populous cities of West Virginia as on 2018 census estimates are Charleston with 47,215, Huntington, Morgantown, Parkersburg and Wheeling.

RankCitiesPopulation(2018)
1Charleston47,215

Population Pyramid

West Virginia population pyramid chart according to 2017 census estimates.

Source: 2017 US Census Estimates: Population In Five Year Age-Group

Languages spoken in WV

English is the official language of West Virginia, 1.6 million speak only English, 17,955 speak Spanish language, 12,646 speak European languages and 8,498 speak Asian languages.
LanguagesPopulationPercentage
Speak only English1,693,13197.54
Spanish Language17,9551.03
European Language12,6460.73
Asian Languages8,4980.49
Other Languages3,5680.21
Source: US Census 2017(Table S1601)

Education

West Virginia education stats of high school and university as per table below.

TotalMaleFemale
Population 18 to 24 years166,30985,56780,742
Less than high school graduate20,64811,2159,433
High school graduate (includes equivalency)61,14935,97125,178
Some college or associates degree71,82033,81138,009
Bachelors degree or higher12,6924,5708,122
Population 25 years and over1,293,665629,027664,638
Less than 9th grade60,83932,82928,010
9th to 12th grade, no diploma121,23563,26457,971
High school graduate (includes equivalency)524,710266,128258,582
Some college, no degree239,718111,757127,961
Associates degree89,74233,09856,644
Bachelors degree155,42374,53780,886
Graduate or professional degree101,99847,41454,584
White1,211,661586,029625,632
High school graduate or higher1,040,538495,974544,564
Bachelors degree or higher237,820111,707126,113
Black or African42,68623,52819,158
High school graduate or higher37,90520,66617,239
Bachelors degree or higher6,9073,7043,203
American Indian or Alaska Native alone2,5571,1921,365
High school graduate or higher1,8308111,019
Bachelors degree or higher366132234
Asian9,6704,4885,182
High school graduate or higher8,9294,3294,600
Bachelors degree or higher6,1363,3142,822
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander401158243
High school graduate or higher350134216
Bachelors degree or higher17134
Hispanic or Latino Origin14,6487,8646,784
High school graduate or higher11,6465,9885,658
Bachelors degree or higher3,0161,5171,499
Source: US Census 2017(Table S1501)

Disability

The West Virginia disable population as per the types of Hearing/Vision/Cognitive/Ambulatory difficulty.

Total civilian non-institutionalized population356,167
Male180,636
Female175,531
-
White337,528
Black or African American10,108
American Indian and Alaska Native alone1,348
Asian833
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander121
Some other race830
DISABILITY TYPE
With a hearing difficulty113,496
With a vision difficulty74,327
With a cognitive difficulty134,165
With an ambulatory difficulty200,842
With a self-care difficulty70,370
With an independent living difficulty126,349

Counties of West Virginia

West Virginia state is divided into 55 counties, Kanawha County is the most populous with 180,454, Berkeley County with 117,123, Monongalia County with 106,420, Cabell County with 93,224, Wood County with 84,203. The least populous county is Wirt County with 5,830.

CountyPopulation 2017Population 2018% ChangeRank 2017Rank 2018
Barbour County16,49916,5350.23535
Berkeley County115,007117,1231.822
Boone County22,37421,951-1.92929
Braxton County14,22414,089-0.93838
Brooke County22,39022,203-0.82828
Cabell County94,48693,224-1.344
Calhoun County7,3227,254-0.95252
Clay County8,7148,632-0.94646
Doddridge County8,5298,406-1.44748
Fayette County43,57743,018-1.31212
Gilmer County8,0578,026-0.45050
Grant County11,64911,626-0.24343
Greenbrier County35,24334,786-1.31515
Hampshire County23,39823,347-0.22727
Hancock County29,42529,094-1.11919
Hardy County13,83813,775-0.54040
Harrison County67,92367,554-0.577
Jackson County28,90728,706-0.72021
Jefferson County56,40656,8110.7109
Kanawha County183,310180,454-1.611
Lewis County16,19216,024-13636
Lincoln County20,87820,599-1.33131
Logan County33,04332,607-1.31717
McDowell County18,52118,223-1.63232
Marion County56,36956,097-0.51111
Marshall County31,21630,785-1.41818
Mason County26,81826,718-0.42323
Mercer County59,80159,131-1.188
Mineral County27,18026,940-0.92222
Mingo County24,13823,785-1.52626
Monongalia County105,916106,4200.533
Monroe County13,37313,280-0.74141
Morgan County17,70917,7870.43333
Nicholas County25,13424,842-1.22424
Ohio County42,05641,755-0.71313
Pendleton County6,9706,9970.45453
Pleasants County7,4537,5070.75151
Pocahontas County8,4878,414-0.94847
Preston County33,82333,83901616
Putnam County56,66556,6820910
Raleigh County75,06274,254-1.166
Randolph County28,89428,823-0.22120
Ritchie County9,8169,721-14444
Roane County14,01013,932-0.63939
Summers County12,89112,760-14242
Taylor County16,91016,862-0.33434
Tucker County6,9916,955-0.55354
Tyler County8,8078,746-0.74545
Upshur County24,54624,415-0.52525
Wayne County40,19239,944-0.61414
Webster County8,3638,285-0.94949
Wetzel County15,42515,270-13737
Wirt County5,7905,8300.75555
Wood County85,08384,203-155
Wyoming County21,24820,786-2.23030

References

1. Census Fact finder
2. Historical Population of States from 1790 to 1990

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