Counties in West Virginia by population

Kanawha County had the highest population of 55 counties in 2024, at 173,423. Wirt County had the lowest, at 4,908. The median was 21,294 and the figure for West Virginia was 1.77 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest173,423Kanawha County
Lowest4,908Wirt County
Median21,29455 counties
West Virginia1,767,402History

All counties, 2024

CSVChart (SVG)

Kanawha CountyKanawha County: 173,423 persons173,423Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 135,990 persons135,990Monongalia CountyMonongalia County: 107,931 persons107,931Cabell CountyCabell County: 91,455 persons91,455Wood CountyWood County: 82,650 persons82,650Raleigh CountyRaleigh County: 72,185 persons72,185Harrison CountyHarrison County: 64,426 persons64,426Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 61,289 persons61,289Mercer CountyMercer County: 57,552 persons57,552Putnam CountyPutnam County: 56,922 persons56,922Marion CountyMarion County: 55,685 persons55,685Ohio CountyOhio County: 40,969 persons40,969Fayette CountyFayette County: 38,554 persons38,554Wayne CountyWayne County: 37,503 persons37,503Preston CountyPreston County: 33,987 persons33,987Greenbrier CountyGreenbrier County: 31,832 persons31,832Logan CountyLogan County: 30,615 persons30,615Marshall CountyMarshall County: 29,284 persons29,284Hancock CountyHancock County: 27,977 persons27,977Jackson CountyJackson County: 27,496 persons27,496Randolph CountyRandolph County: 27,130 persons27,130Mineral CountyMineral County: 26,751 persons26,751Mason CountyMason County: 24,765 persons24,765Nicholas CountyNicholas County: 23,955 persons23,955Hampshire CountyHampshire County: 23,768 persons23,768Upshur CountyUpshur County: 23,658 persons23,658Mingo CountyMingo County: 21,680 persons21,680Brooke CountyBrooke County: 21,294 persons21,294Boone CountyBoone County: 20,448 persons20,448Wyoming CountyWyoming County: 20,007 persons20,007Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 19,369 persons19,369Morgan CountyMorgan County: 17,806 persons17,806McDowell CountyMcDowell County: 17,186 persons17,186Taylor CountyTaylor County: 16,486 persons16,486Lewis CountyLewis County: 16,478 persons16,478Barbour CountyBarbour County: 15,336 persons15,336Hardy CountyHardy County: 14,435 persons14,435Wetzel CountyWetzel County: 13,812 persons13,812Roane CountyRoane County: 13,508 persons13,508Monroe CountyMonroe County: 12,516 persons12,516Braxton CountyBraxton County: 12,054 persons12,054Summers CountySummers County: 11,584 persons11,584Grant CountyGrant County: 10,962 persons10,962Ritchie CountyRitchie County: 8,122 persons8,122Webster CountyWebster County: 7,933 persons7,933Tyler CountyTyler County: 7,896 persons7,896Clay CountyClay County: 7,693 persons7,693Doddridge CountyDoddridge County: 7,642 persons7,642Pocahontas CountyPocahontas County: 7,640 persons7,640Pleasants CountyPleasants County: 7,352 persons7,352Gilmer CountyGilmer County: 7,117 persons7,117Tucker CountyTucker County: 6,549 persons6,549Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 5,931 persons5,931Pendleton CountyPendleton County: 5,906 persons5,906Wirt CountyWirt County: 4,908 persons4,908
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024
persons
Change on 2023
1Kanawha County173,423-0.6%
2Berkeley County135,990+2.4%
3Monongalia County107,931+0.4%
4Cabell County91,455-0.6%
5Wood County82,650-0.4%
6Raleigh County72,185-0.4%
7Harrison County64,426-0.2%
8Jefferson County61,289+2.6%
9Mercer County57,552-0.9%
10Putnam County56,9220%
11Marion County55,685-0.3%
12Ohio County40,969-0.6%
13Fayette County38,554-1.3%
14Wayne County37,503-0.6%
15Preston County33,987-0.2%
16Greenbrier County31,832-1%
17Logan County30,615-1.1%
18Marshall County29,284-0.7%
19Hancock County27,977-0.7%
20Jackson County27,496-0.4%
21Randolph County27,130-0.9%
22Mineral County26,751-0.2%
23Mason County24,765-0.1%
24Nicholas County23,955-0.6%
25Hampshire County23,768+0.7%
26Upshur County23,658+0.4%
27Mingo County21,680-1.4%
28Brooke County21,294-0.6%
29Boone County20,448-0.8%
30Wyoming County20,007-1.3%
31Lincoln County19,369-1.6%
32Morgan County17,806+1.1%
33McDowell County17,186-1.5%
34Taylor County16,486+0.4%
35Lewis County16,478-0.8%
36Barbour County15,336-0.7%
37Hardy County14,435+0.6%
38Wetzel County13,812-1.3%
39Roane County13,508-1.2%
40Monroe County12,516+1%
41Braxton County12,054-0.7%
42Summers County11,584-0.1%
43Grant County10,962-0.2%
44Ritchie County8,122-0.5%
45Webster County7,933-1.2%
46Tyler County7,896-0.2%
47Clay County7,693-0.8%
48Doddridge County7,642-0.7%
49Pocahontas County7,640-1.1%
50Pleasants County7,352-1%
51Gilmer County7,117-1.5%
52Tucker County6,549-0.9%
53Calhoun County5,931-0.7%
54Pendleton County5,906-1.5%
55Wirt County4,908-1.2%

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 173,423 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Wirt County, with 4,908 in 2024.

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