Data / Rankings / Unemployment rate / Counties in West Virginia

Counties in West Virginia by unemployment rate, August 2026

McDowell County had the highest unemployment rate of 55 counties in August 2026, at 10.6%. Pendleton County had the lowest, at 2.8%. The median was 4.2% and the figure for West Virginia was 4%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest10.6McDowell County
Lowest2.8Pendleton County
Median4.255 counties
West Virginia4History

All counties, August 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

McDowell CountyMcDowell County: 10.6 %10.6Mingo CountyMingo County: 7.6 %7.6Wyoming CountyWyoming County: 6.4 %6.4Clay CountyClay County: 6 %6Wetzel CountyWetzel County: 6 %6Logan CountyLogan County: 5.9 %5.9Roane CountyRoane County: 5.5 %5.5Wirt CountyWirt County: 5.3 %5.3Tyler CountyTyler County: 5.2 %5.2Webster CountyWebster County: 5 %5Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 4.9 %4.9Randolph CountyRandolph County: 4.9 %4.9Boone CountyBoone County: 4.8 %4.8Jackson CountyJackson County: 4.8 %4.8Hancock CountyHancock County: 4.7 %4.7Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 4.7 %4.7Brooke CountyBrooke County: 4.6 %4.6Lewis CountyLewis County: 4.6 %4.6Nicholas CountyNicholas County: 4.6 %4.6Ritchie CountyRitchie County: 4.6 %4.6Barbour CountyBarbour County: 4.5 %4.5Marshall CountyMarshall County: 4.5 %4.5Summers CountySummers County: 4.5 %4.5Wayne CountyWayne County: 4.4 %4.4Fayette CountyFayette County: 4.3 %4.3Mercer CountyMercer County: 4.3 %4.3Upshur CountyUpshur County: 4.3 %4.3Grant CountyGrant County: 4.2 %4.2Monroe CountyMonroe County: 4.2 %4.2Ohio CountyOhio County: 4.2 %4.2Pocahontas CountyPocahontas County: 4.2 %4.2Raleigh CountyRaleigh County: 4.2 %4.2Marion CountyMarion County: 4.1 %4.1Wood CountyWood County: 4.1 %4.1Greenbrier CountyGreenbrier County: 4 %4Kanawha CountyKanawha County: 4 %4Mineral CountyMineral County: 4 %4Pleasants CountyPleasants County: 3.9 %3.9Preston CountyPreston County: 3.9 %3.9Taylor CountyTaylor County: 3.9 %3.9Tucker CountyTucker County: 3.9 %3.9Cabell CountyCabell County: 3.8 %3.8Gilmer CountyGilmer County: 3.7 %3.7Hampshire CountyHampshire County: 3.7 %3.7Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 3.5 %3.5Harrison CountyHarrison County: 3.5 %3.5Mason CountyMason County: 3.5 %3.5Doddridge CountyDoddridge County: 3.4 %3.4Morgan CountyMorgan County: 3.4 %3.4Putnam CountyPutnam County: 3.4 %3.4Braxton CountyBraxton County: 3.3 %3.3Hardy CountyHardy County: 3.2 %3.2Monongalia CountyMonongalia County: 3.2 %3.2Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 3.1 %3.1Pendleton CountyPendleton County: 2.8 %2.8
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesAugust 2026 (%)Change on August 2025
1McDowell County Provisional10.6-1 pts
2Mingo County Provisional7.6-0.2 pts
3Wyoming County Provisional6.4-0.1 pts
4Clay County Provisional6-0.8 pts
4Wetzel County Provisional6+0.3 pts
6Logan County Provisional5.9+0.3 pts
7Roane County Provisional5.5-0.8 pts
8Wirt County Provisional5.3-0.2 pts
9Tyler County Provisional5.2-0.2 pts
10Webster County Provisional5-1.1 pts
11Calhoun County Provisional4.9-1 pts
11Randolph County Provisional4.9-0.5 pts
13Boone County Provisional4.8-0.9 pts
13Jackson County Provisional4.8-0.8 pts
15Hancock County Provisional4.7-0.8 pts
15Lincoln County Provisional4.7-0.7 pts
17Brooke County Provisional4.6-0.7 pts
17Lewis County Provisional4.6-0.5 pts
17Nicholas County Provisional4.6-1 pts
17Ritchie County Provisional4.6-0.5 pts
21Barbour County Provisional4.5-0.8 pts
21Marshall County Provisional4.50 pts
21Summers County Provisional4.5-0.7 pts
24Wayne County Provisional4.4-0.5 pts
25Fayette County Provisional4.3-0.4 pts
25Mercer County Provisional4.3-0.5 pts
25Upshur County Provisional4.3-0.6 pts
28Grant County Provisional4.20 pts
28Monroe County Provisional4.2-1.9 pts
28Ohio County Provisional4.2-0.2 pts
28Pocahontas County Provisional4.20 pts
28Raleigh County Provisional4.2-0.4 pts
33Marion County Provisional4.1-0.5 pts
33Wood County Provisional4.1-0.4 pts
35Greenbrier County Provisional4-0.6 pts
35Kanawha County Provisional4-0.4 pts
35Mineral County Provisional4-0.7 pts
38Pleasants County Provisional3.9-0.6 pts
38Preston County Provisional3.9-0.6 pts
38Taylor County Provisional3.9-0.7 pts
38Tucker County Provisional3.9-0.1 pts
42Cabell County Provisional3.8-0.4 pts
43Gilmer County Provisional3.7-0.5 pts
43Hampshire County Provisional3.7-0.3 pts
45Berkeley County Provisional3.5-0.6 pts
45Harrison County Provisional3.5-0.4 pts
45Mason County Provisional3.5-0.4 pts
48Doddridge County Provisional3.4-0.4 pts
48Morgan County Provisional3.4-0.4 pts
48Putnam County Provisional3.4-0.4 pts
51Braxton County Provisional3.3-1 pts
52Hardy County Provisional3.2-0.5 pts
52Monongalia County Provisional3.2-0.5 pts
54Jefferson County Provisional3.1-0.4 pts
55Pendleton County Provisional2.8-0.4 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

McDowell County, with 10.6% in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Pendleton County, with 2.8% in August 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in West Virginia: more rankings