Income and Poverty in the State of West Virginia

The median household income in the area has declined from the 2000 values (inflation adjusted). The median income has decreased to $33,452, which amounts to a 3.7 percent decline. The State of West Virginia ranks 35 of 46 states when comparing total percent of decline in household income across the nation.

When analyzed against other States in the US, the State of West Virginia accounted a very low median income for all households of $34,744 (Adjusted to 2005 Dollars). This figure is 41.4 percent lower than the median for the rest of the nation, which is a reported $49,133.

When put side-by-side with other States throughout the United States, the State of West Virginia may be understood as having a relatively high poverty rate amid the residents with a poverty rate of 17.9 percent of the population with family incomes below the 1999 poverty level. The Black or African American race/ethnicity population category, holds the highest rate of poverty with 32.5 percent of the people in 2000 living in poverty. The population that is aged Under 5 years have the most percent of people living in poverty in West Virginia, having 27 percent of this age group in the area living in poverty.

According to the 2000 Census, the counties in the State of West Virginia range, in terms of total household income, from a high of $51,918 in Jefferson County to a low of $19,809 in McDowell County.

Top ten counties in highest household income in the State of West Virginia
Total Annual Household Income (Adjusted to 2005 Dollars)

1. Jefferson County ($51,918)
2. Putnam County ($49,014 )
3. Berkeley County ($45,353)
4. Morgan County ($40,969)
5. Kanawha County ($39,506)
6. Hancock County ($39,498)
7. Wood County ($38,943)
8. Brooke County ($38,588)
9. Pleasants County ($38,301)
10. Jackson County ($37,948)

According to the 2000 Census, the counties in the State of West Virginia range, in terms of rate a poverty, from a high of 37.7 percent in McDowell County to a low of 9.3 percent in Putnam County.

Top ten counties in terms of poverty rate in the State of West Virginia
Total Percent of Population Living Below Poverty

1. McDowell County (37.7 percent)
2. Webster County (31.8 )
3. Mingo County (29.7 percent)
4. Lincoln County (27.9 percent)
5. Clay County (27.5 percent)
6. Gilmer County (25.9 percent)
7. Wyoming County (25.1 percent)
8. Calhoun County (25.1 percent)
9. Summers County (24.4 percent)
10. Logan County (24.1 percent)


Black or African American householders reported household income levels that were 30.9 percent less than the all population median published in the 2000 Census, with a median of $23,997. The Asian householders in the area have reported their median household incomes at $59,270. This median income level is 70.6 percent greater than the reported median household income, in the state, for all households. Hispanic headed households in West Virginia, as reported in 2000, had a median household income of $34,131, this median household income is 1.8 percent less than reported value of the areas total household median income for all households. The American Indian and Alaska Native households in West Virginia had a median household income level of $30,713, this was 11.6 percent less than the median level for total households in the area. In the State of West Virginia, White householders had a median household income (in 2005 Dollars) of $35,119 according to the Decennial Census of 2000, which was 1.1 percent greater than the median income in 2000.

The poverty rate in the State of West Virginia has increased by 0.1 percent since the amount published in 2000, moving from 17.9 percent to 18 percent.

As the median household income witnessed a decline in the last five year in the State of West Virginia, the Race/Ethnicity group that went through the most dramatic decline in median household income was the Black or African American category. This group felt a decline of 28.5 percent since 2000. The White population category was least influenced by the median household income decline in West Virginia, undergoing a 41 percent increase in household income, since the reported levels in 2000.

Datasource: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2000 Decennial Census. 2005 American Community Survey.