West Virginia Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1790 |
55,873 |
|
–
|
| 1800 |
78,592 |
|
40.7% |
| 1810 |
105,469 |
|
34.2% |
| 1820 |
136,808 |
|
29.7% |
| 1830 |
176,924 |
|
29.3% |
| 1840 |
224,537 |
|
26.9% |
| 1850 |
302,313 |
|
34.6% |
| 1860 |
376,688 |
|
24.6% |
| 1870 |
442,014 |
|
17.3% |
| 1880 |
618,457 |
|
39.9% |
| 1890 |
762,794 |
|
23.3% |
| 1900 |
958,800 |
|
25.7% |
| 1910 |
1,221,119 |
|
27.4% |
| 1920 |
1,463,701 |
|
19.9% |
| 1930 |
1,729,205 |
|
18.1% |
| 1940 |
1,901,974 |
|
10.0% |
| 1950 |
2,005,552 |
|
5.4% |
| 1960 |
1,860,421 |
|
-7.2% |
| 1970 |
1,744,237 |
|
-6.2% |
| 1980 |
1,949,644 |
|
11.8% |
| 1990 |
1,793,477 |
|
-8.0% |
| 2000 |
1,808,344 |
|
0.8% |
The center of population of West Virginia is located in Braxton County, in the town of Gassaway [4].
As of 2005, West Virginia has an estimated population of 1,816,856, which is an increase of 4,308, or 0.2%, from the prior year and an increase of 8,506, or 0.5%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural decrease since the last census of 3,296 people (that is 108,292 births minus 111,588 deaths) and an increase from net migration of 14,209 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 3,691 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 10,518 people.
Only 1.1% of the state's residents were foreign-born, placing West Virginia last among the 50 states in that statistic. It has the lowest percentage of residents that speak a language other than English in the home (2.7%).
The five largest ancestry groups in West Virginia are: American (23.2%), German (17.2%), Irish (13.5%) (Most actually Scots-Irish), English (12%), Italian (4.8%).
Large numbers of people of German ancestry are present in the northeastern counties of the state.
5.6% of West Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 22.3% under 18, and 15.3% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population.
| Demographics of West Virginia (csv) |
| By race |
White |
Black |
AIAN |
Asian |
NHPI |
| AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native - NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander |
| 2000 (total population) |
96.01% |
3.49% |
0.59% |
0.66% |
0.05% |
| 2000 (Hispanic only) |
0.63% |
0.04% |
0.02% |
0.01% |
0.01% |
| 2005 (total population) |
95.99% |
3.56% |
0.56% |
0.69% |
0.05% |
| 2005 (Hispanic only) |
0.80% |
0.04% |
0.02% |
0.01% |
0.01% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (total population) |
0.46% |
2.49% |
-3.96% |
5.57% |
-2.80% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (non-Hispanic only) |
0.28% |
2.30% |
-4.24% |
5.96% |
-0.52% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (Hispanic only) |
27.74% |
21.51% |
5.56% |
-20.22% |
-16.67% |
 |
| West Virginia population density map. |
|
More Information for your West Virginia Demographics:
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