2025

Counties in West Virginia ranked by White Population

This list ranks the 55 counties in West Virginia based on their White population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest White population in West Virginia

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  • 1
    Kanawha County
    White population in Kanawha County is 163,165
    86.77% of Kanawha County population is White
  • 2
    Berkeley County
    White population in Berkeley County is 112,016
    82.76% of Berkeley County population is White
  • 3
    Monongalia County
    White population in Monongalia County is 97,484
    87.68% of Monongalia County population is White
  • 4
    Cabell County
    White population in Cabell County is 87,443
    89.74% of Cabell County population is White
  • 5
    Wood County
    White population in Wood County is 81,995
    94.57% of Wood County population is White

List of 55 counties in West Virginia by White Population

View Methodology
Rank by White Population
County
White Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total West Virginia White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Kanawha County 163,165 86.77% 9.62%
2 Berkeley County 112,016 82.76% 6.61%
3 Monongalia County 97,484 87.68% 5.75%
4 Cabell County 87,443 89.74% 5.16%
5 Wood County 81,995 94.57% 4.84%
6 Raleigh County 67,575 87.47% 3.98%
7 Harrison County 63,633 92.93% 3.75%
8 56,061 94.58% 3.31%
9 55,878 89.89% 3.29%
10 53,935 91.77% 3.18%
11 53,087 82.73% 3.13%
12 40,099 90.78% 2.36%
13 38,048 95.94% 2.24%
14 37,861 91.88% 2.23%
15 31,711 90.76% 1.87%
16 31,641 93.00% 1.87%
17 31,089 95.76% 1.83%
18 29,530 94.18% 1.74%
19 27,666 92.66% 1.63%
20 27,466 96.04% 1.62%
21 27,158 91.18% 1.60%
22 26,228 93.49% 1.55%
23 24,779 95.99% 1.46%
24 24,138 96.44% 1.42%
25 23,094 92.79% 1.36%
26 23,075 94.75% 1.36%
27 22,458 95.66% 1.32%
28 21,563 93.60% 1.27%
29 21,112 97.31% 1.24%
30 20,758 96.71% 1.22%
31 20,058 97.03% 1.18%
32 17,026 94.41% 1.00%
33 16,670 88.53% 0.98%
34 16,532 91.81% 0.97%
35 16,266 95.37% 0.96%
36 15,018 91.41% 0.89%
37 14,090 95.66% 0.83%
38 13,810 96.01% 0.81%
39 13,156 90.15% 0.78%
40 12,228 96.31% 0.72%
41 12,175 88.47% 0.72%
42 11,112 91.95% 0.66%
43 10,798 96.08% 0.64%
44 8,286 97.15% 0.49%
45 8,228 93.17% 0.49%
46 8,122 95.94% 0.48%
47 7,939 96.42% 0.47%
48 7,780 94.69% 0.46%
49 7,498 93.54% 0.44%
50 7,364 94.82% 0.43%
51 6,673 97.09% 0.39%
52 6,191 81.97% 0.37%
53 6,025 94.60% 0.36%
54 5,954 95.01% 0.35%
55 5,112 96.95% 0.30%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks counties in West Virginia by their White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines White Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as White, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as White alone, while others identify as White along with another race (such as White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and White .
  • We’ve used the “White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as White alone or in combination in counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as White .
  2. % of Total West Virginia White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. White population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small White populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Counties that don’t have any reported White population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where White populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.