Counties in West Virginia by population, 2025

Kanawha County had the highest population of 55 counties in 2025, at 172,381. Wirt County had the lowest, at 4,879. The median was 21,142 and the figure for West Virginia was 1.77 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest172,381Kanawha County
Lowest4,879Wirt County
Median21,14255 counties
West Virginia1,766,147History

All counties, 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Kanawha CountyKanawha County: 172,381 persons172,381Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 139,522 persons139,522Monongalia CountyMonongalia County: 107,991 persons107,991Cabell CountyCabell County: 91,183 persons91,183Wood CountyWood County: 82,385 persons82,385Raleigh CountyRaleigh County: 71,775 persons71,775Harrison CountyHarrison County: 64,221 persons64,221Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 63,102 persons63,102Mercer CountyMercer County: 57,503 persons57,503Putnam CountyPutnam County: 56,885 persons56,885Marion CountyMarion County: 55,584 persons55,584Ohio CountyOhio County: 40,496 persons40,496Fayette CountyFayette County: 38,165 persons38,165Wayne CountyWayne County: 37,309 persons37,309Preston CountyPreston County: 34,004 persons34,004Greenbrier CountyGreenbrier County: 31,578 persons31,578Logan CountyLogan County: 30,375 persons30,375Marshall CountyMarshall County: 29,159 persons29,159Hancock CountyHancock County: 27,729 persons27,729Jackson CountyJackson County: 27,450 persons27,450Randolph CountyRandolph County: 26,882 persons26,882Mineral CountyMineral County: 26,792 persons26,792Mason CountyMason County: 24,707 persons24,707Hampshire CountyHampshire County: 24,105 persons24,105Nicholas CountyNicholas County: 23,848 persons23,848Upshur CountyUpshur County: 23,758 persons23,758Mingo CountyMingo County: 21,455 persons21,455Brooke CountyBrooke County: 21,142 persons21,142Boone CountyBoone County: 20,251 persons20,251Wyoming CountyWyoming County: 19,801 persons19,801Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 19,177 persons19,177Morgan CountyMorgan County: 18,027 persons18,027McDowell CountyMcDowell County: 16,878 persons16,878Lewis CountyLewis County: 16,394 persons16,394Taylor CountyTaylor County: 16,287 persons16,287Barbour CountyBarbour County: 15,414 persons15,414Hardy CountyHardy County: 14,337 persons14,337Wetzel CountyWetzel County: 13,734 persons13,734Roane CountyRoane County: 13,317 persons13,317Monroe CountyMonroe County: 12,491 persons12,491Braxton CountyBraxton County: 11,885 persons11,885Summers CountySummers County: 11,532 persons11,532Grant CountyGrant County: 11,041 persons11,041Ritchie CountyRitchie County: 8,034 persons8,034Tyler CountyTyler County: 7,881 persons7,881Webster CountyWebster County: 7,760 persons7,760Doddridge CountyDoddridge County: 7,634 persons7,634Pocahontas CountyPocahontas County: 7,602 persons7,602Clay CountyClay County: 7,538 persons7,538Pleasants CountyPleasants County: 7,338 persons7,338Gilmer CountyGilmer County: 7,085 persons7,085Tucker CountyTucker County: 6,540 persons6,540Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 5,978 persons5,978Pendleton CountyPendleton County: 5,826 persons5,826Wirt CountyWirt County: 4,879 persons4,879
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
persons
Change on 2024
1Kanawha County172,381-0.6%
2Berkeley County139,522+2.6%
3Monongalia County107,991+0.1%
4Cabell County91,183-0.3%
5Wood County82,385-0.3%
6Raleigh County71,775-0.6%
7Harrison County64,221-0.3%
8Jefferson County63,102+3%
9Mercer County57,503-0.1%
10Putnam County56,885-0.1%
11Marion County55,584-0.2%
12Ohio County40,496-1.2%
13Fayette County38,165-1%
14Wayne County37,309-0.5%
15Preston County34,004+0.1%
16Greenbrier County31,578-0.8%
17Logan County30,375-0.8%
18Marshall County29,159-0.4%
19Hancock County27,729-0.9%
20Jackson County27,450-0.2%
21Randolph County26,882-0.9%
22Mineral County26,792+0.2%
23Mason County24,707-0.2%
24Hampshire County24,105+1.4%
25Nicholas County23,848-0.4%
26Upshur County23,758+0.4%
27Mingo County21,455-1%
28Brooke County21,142-0.7%
29Boone County20,251-1%
30Wyoming County19,801-1%
31Lincoln County19,177-1%
32Morgan County18,027+1.2%
33McDowell County16,878-1.8%
34Lewis County16,394-0.5%
35Taylor County16,287-1.2%
36Barbour County15,414+0.5%
37Hardy County14,337-0.7%
38Wetzel County13,734-0.6%
39Roane County13,317-1.4%
40Monroe County12,491-0.2%
41Braxton County11,885-1.4%
42Summers County11,532-0.4%
43Grant County11,041+0.7%
44Ritchie County8,034-1.1%
45Tyler County7,881-0.2%
46Webster County7,760-2.2%
47Doddridge County7,634-0.1%
48Pocahontas County7,602-0.5%
49Clay County7,538-2%
50Pleasants County7,338-0.2%
51Gilmer County7,085-0.4%
52Tucker County6,540-0.1%
53Calhoun County5,978+0.8%
54Pendleton County5,826-1.4%
55Wirt County4,879-0.6%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Kanawha County, with 172,381 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Wirt County, with 4,879 in 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in West Virginia: more rankings