West Virginia

Key Details

• The median age of West Virginia's 1.7 million population in 2022 was 42.6.
• Common birthplaces for foreign-born residents of West Virginia are China, Mexico, and Germany.
• West Virginia residents typically lean towards Republicans in their voting.
• 25.8% of the over 860,000 housing units in West Virginia are renter-occupied.
• Both property crime rate and violent crime rate in West Virginia in 2023 are lower than national averages.
• No mass shooting was reported in West Virginia in 2022 and 2023.

West Virginia Population Demographics

There are about 1.77 million residents in West Virginia. This Mountain State has a median age of 42.6 in 2022. The largest ethnicity in the state is Whites, who make up more than 1.6 million of its 1.77 million population.

In 2022, approximately 60,200 African Americans lived in the state. Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese are the most common non-English languages spoken as primary languages in West Virginia.

In 2022, 99.3% of West Virginia residents were United States citizens, higher than the national average of 93.5%. The most common birthplaces for foreign-born West Virginia residents were Mexico, Germany, and China.

In 2022, 114,894 West Virginia residents were categorized as veterans. Females accounted for 50.1% of the population, and residents under 18 made up 19.9%.

Elections and Voting

Over the years, the political inclination in the West Virginia governorship position has been a mix of both major parties. Jim Justice, initially elected as a Democrat, has served as governor since 2017 but switched to the Republican Party in 2017.

In the state legislature, the positions of the president of the senate, the majority leader, and the president pro tempore are held by Republicans. However, the minority leader is a Democrat. In the lower house, the speaker, speaker pro tempore, and the majority leader are Republicans. However, the minority leader is a Democrat. This distribution reflects a robust Republican control in both legislative chambers, contrasting with the more balanced split in some other states.

West Virginia has shown a strong Republican preference among its federal representatives in recent years. The state is represented by one Republican senator and an independent senator. In the U.S. House of Representatives, West Virginia's delegation consists of two Republicans, Carol Miller and Alex Mooney.

West Virginia's presidential election voting patterns shifted toward Republican preferences in 2000. Since that year, the majority of West Virginia voters have chosen the Republican candidate, reflecting a trend toward Republican support in national elections.

Housing, Income, and Employment

As of July 1, 2023, West Virginia had 863,745 housing units, 74.2% of which were owner-occupied. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in 2022 was $145,800, and the median gross rent in that year was $831. In 2023, 10.9% of West Virginia residents lived with severe housing problems.

More than 88% of the West Virginia population aged 25 or older were high school graduates. However, only 22.7% of residents in that age range had a bachelor's degree.

West Virginia residents employed in the state topped 690,000 in February 2023, a 0.583% increase from the February 2022 figures. As of May 2024, the unemployment rate in the state was 4.2%, 0.2% higher than the national average.

In 2022, the median household income of the estimated 716,000 households in West Virginia was $55,217. Individuals categorized as persons in poverty were about 17.9% of the entire population.

West Virginia Crime Rates

West Virginia's crime rates are lower than the national average. Violent crime rates in the state dropped from 360 to 310 incidents per 100,000 residents in 2023 compared to 2022.

The state's violent crime rate is 22% below the national average. Only 9% of the violent crimes are robbery-related. Nationally, robberies accounted for 16% of violent crimes in the United States in 2023.

The property crime rate in 2023 in West Virginia decreased by nearly 26% from the 2022 rate. In 2022, the state recorded 1,840 incidents per 100,000 residents, but in 2023, the figure dropped to 1,340 incidents per 100,000 residents.

There were no reported mass shootings in West Virginia in 2022 and 2023. In 2023, Grafton, Weirton, Buckhannon, Bridgeport, and Fairmont were the state's five safest cities.

How to Find People in West Virginia

A good starting point for finding people in West Virginia is conducting a basic search by name and city on WhitePages. WhitePages, like similar sites such as Spokeo and Intelius, allow users to perform online searches for real individuals.

You can also search for West Virginia residents using social media sites like Facebook, X, and Instagram. If you know the individual's name, you can provide it in the search bar of these sites to locate the subject of the search.

Alternatively, if other methods fail to yield the desired results, you can hire private investigators. Note that hiring private investigators may cost you a fee.

Interesting Facts About West Virginia