An eastern state also known as "Mountain State", West Virginia has an estimated 1,775,932 residents as of 2023. This makes West Virginia's population the 12th-smallest/39th-highest population in the United States, good for .53% of the nation's total population. However, more unusual is the fact that West Virginia is one of only three states whose populations have decreased from 2010 to 2023. Moreover, West Virginia's decrease, -4.16%, is the highest of the three, exceeded only by the shrinkage in the non-state U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
West Virginia's total area measures 24,230 square miles (mi²), the 10th-smallest/41st-largest in the U.S., and contributes to an average population density of 74 people per square mile. This is marginally lower than the U.S. national population density of 96 people/mi², giving West Virginia the 22nd-lowest/29th-highest population density of any U.S. state. West Virginia's largest city is Charleston, also the state capital, with 48,102 residents. Close behind Charleston is Huntington (pop. 46,152), followed by Morgantown (30,554) and Parkersburg (29,213).
A foundational coal-belt state, West Virginia has the lowest Hispanic population by percentage (1.59%) of any state in the Union and is the third-whitest and least diverse State overall. It is one of only three states to [lose population] from 2010 to 2023 and ranks as one of the most rural states in the country. West Virginia is also the State with the highest number of reserve units per 100k people of any contiguous U.S. state—only Hawaii has more.
West Virginia, which seceded from Virginia (which itself had seceded from the Union) during the Civil War, became its own State in June 1863. It and Nevada were the only states admitted during the War, although Kansas became a state in early 1861, just a couple of months before the hostilities began. The State has shifted several times between supporting the Democratic or Republican Party in its history, with each shift tending to last a generation or more. Primarily Republican from 1900 until the Great Depression, the State was reliably Democratic, with few exceptions through Bill Clinton's 2nd election in 1996.
Since then, the State has become solidly Republican, with that party winning by an increasing margin in each election from 2000 through 2016. Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 42% in 2016 and Joe Biden by 39% in 2020. It was Trump's second-largest margin in both cases, trailing only Wyoming.
For over 50 years, the State has grown much more slowly than the country; its electoral vote total has dropped from 8 in 1960 to 4 today.
Located in the central-eastern sector of the United States of America, West Virginia was admitted into the Union in 1863. It is the 41st largest and the 38th most populous State in the country, but what are the population statistics in the present day?
West Virginia is one of the few U.S. states not to have a city with more than 100,000 residents. The largest city in the State, Charleston (the state capital) is home to just 49,736 people. The following largest cities are Huntington (48,638) and Parkersburg).
Most of West Virginia's counties are designated as rural, and a slight majority of the State's population lives in a rural area. 2010, the state had a 51% rural population compared to 49% urban population.
The most populated counties in West Virginia are Kanawha and Berkeley, with respective populations of 183,293 and 114,920.
According to a 2022 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, this State's local governments consist of 55 counties, 231 cities, towns, and villages, and 298 special districts.
West Virginia Gender and Religion Statistics
The median age across the population of West Virginia is approximately 41.9 years of age. Regarding the population's ratio of females to males, 50.6% are females and 49.4% are males.
Regarding preferred religions among the population of West Virginia, 78% are affiliated with a Christian-based faith, 3% are affiliated with non-Christian-based faiths, and 18% are not affiliated with any particular faith.
West Virginia Boundary, Census, and Statehood History
West Virginia was admitted as a State on June 20, 1863, comprising 48 counties formerly part of Virginia; two additional counties, Berkeley and Jefferson, were added in 1866, bringing the State to essentially its present boundaries. Census coverage included all parts of the present State from 1790 on.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of West Virginia was:
White: 92.08%
Black or African American: 3.39%
Two or more races: 3.08%
Asian: 0.77%
Other race: 0.53%
Native American: 0.11%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.04%
Muslims are under 1,000.
Comments