West Virginia: 2008 Population and Housing Estimates

Demographic characteristics⁽¹⁾ 

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population of West Virginia at 1,814,468 residents on 1^st of July 2008. This includes an increase of 6,124, or 0.3%, since the 2000 Census⁽⁶⁾. Females were 51.1% while males were 48.9%. The median age was 40.6 years. Out of total population, 21.2% were under 18 years while 15.7% were 65 years and older. Age Dependency Ratio was 58.7; Child Dependency Ratio was 33.8 while Old-Age Dependency Ratio was 24.9.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

For people reporting one race alone, 94.4% were White, 3.4% - Black or African American, 0.5% - Asian, 0.1% - American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.02% - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0.2% - some other race. 1.4% reported two or more races. Out of all people in West Virginia, 1.1% were Hispanic or Latino of any race while 93.5% were White non-Hispanic.

In 2008, the population density in West Virginia was 75.4 persons per square mile of land area.

Social characteristics⁽²⁾ 

Households and families:

There were 749,586 households in West Virginia in 2008. 1,768,914 people were recorded in these households; 42.4% were householders, 21.4% - spouses, 26.7% - children, 5.1% - other relatives, and 4.5% - nonrelatives (including 2.2% unmarried partners). The average household size was 2.36 people. Households with one or more people under 18 years comprised 29% while households with one or more people 65 years and over constituted 27.5%.

Families made up 65.5% of the households in West Virginia. This figure includes married-couple families (50.4%) and other families (15.2%; families with male householder with no wife present - 4.3%, families with female householder with no husband present - 10.9%). Nonfamily households made up 34.5% of all households in West Virginia. Most of the nonfamily households were people living alone (29.8% of all households), but some were composed of people living in households in which no one was related to the householder (4.7% of all households). The average family size was 2.91 people.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

There were 37,014 grandparents living with own grandchildren under 18 years, 53.6% of them were responsible for own grandchildren.

Marital status:

In 2008, there were 726,155 males and 772,774 females 15 years and over in West Virginia. Out of all males 15 years and over, 29.2% were never married, 54.5% were married, 1.4% were separated, 3.2% were widowed, and 11.6% were divorced. Out of all females 15 years and over, 21.1% were never married, 51.4% were married, 2.1% were separated, 12.9% were widowed, and 12.5% were divorced.

Fertility:

There were 23,683 women 15 to 50 years old who had a birth during 2008 in West Virginia, 37.6% of them were unmarried women (widowed, divorced, and never married). There were 55 births per 1,000 women 15 to 50 years old (43 births per 1,000 women 15 to 19 years old, 107 births per 1,000 women 20 to 34 years old, and 15 births per 1,000 women 35 to 50 years old). 43 births per 1,000 unmarried women were recorded in West Virginia.

Education:

In 2008, there were 1,265,065 people 25 years and over in West Virginia. 82.2% of them had at least graduated from high school and 17.1% had a bachelor's degree or higher. Of people 25 years and over, 40.8% had a high school diploma or equivalency, 18.5% had some collage education but no degree, 5.8% had an associate's degree, 10.3% had a bachelor's degree, and 6.7% had a graduate or professional degree. 17.7% were dropouts; meaning that some completed less than 9^th grade (6.6%) and others completed 9^th to 12^th grade but did not receive any diploma (11.1%).

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

The total school enrollment in West Virginia was 408,512 in 2008. Nursery school and kindergarten enrollment was 10.4% (42,652 children), elementary or high school enrollment was 63.5% (259,370 children), and College or graduate school enrollment was 26.1% (106,490 students).

Geographic mobility:

Of all people at least one year old living in West Virginia in 2008, 87.2% were living in the same residence one year earlier, 7.1% had moved during the past year from another residence in the same county, 2.4% moved from another county in the same state, 3% moved from another state, and 0.3% moved from abroad.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

Nativity, language and ancestry:

Of all people living in West Virginia in 2008, 98.7% were native (including 70.5% who were born in West Virginia) while 1.3% were foreign born. The world regions of birth of the foreign-born population (excluding population born at sea) are: Asia - 41.6%, Latin America - 27.6%, Europe - 24.4%, Africa - 3.1%, Northern America - 2.8%, and Oceania - 0.5%.

Among people at least five years old living in West Virginia, 2.1% (36,768 people) spoke a language other than English at home. Of those speaking a language other than English at home, 46.7% spoke Spanish, 33.7% spoke other Indo-European languages, 14% spoke Asian and Pacific Islander languages, and 5.6% spoke some other language. At the same time, 26.8% of them reported that they did not speak English "very well."

As of 2008, the largest reported ancestries in West Virginia are: German - 20%, Irish - 15.6%, English - 12.5%, American - 11.7%, Italian - 4.8%, Scotch-Irish - 2.4%, Dutch - 2.2%, Scottish - 2.1%, French (except Basque) - 1.8%, and Polish - 1.7%.

Disability and veteran status:

In 2008 the total civilian noninstitutionalized population of West Virginia comprised 1,787,710 people (98.5% of all population), 19% (338,929 people) of which reported a disability. Of those with disabilities, 18,492 people were under 18 years, 200,951 people were 18 to 64 years old, and 119,486 people were 65 years and older.

The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 4.8% of people under 18 years old, to 17.8% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 43.9% of those 65 and older.

There were 171,744 civilian veterans in West Virginia.

Housing characteristics⁽³⁾ 

Housing information:

In 2008, West Virginia had a total of 886,419 housing units, 15.4% of which were vacant. Of the total housing units, 73.6% were in single-unit structures, 12.3% were in multi-unit structures, and 14% were mobile homes. Out of all housing units, 6.6% had no bedroom, 6.8% had 1 bedroom, 28.1% had 2 bedrooms, 43.7% had 3 bedrooms, 12.3% had 4 bedrooms, and 2.6% had 5 and more bedrooms. 20.7% of the housing units were built since 1990.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

Occupied housing unit characteristics:

In 2008, West Virginia had 749,586 occupied housing units, 73.7% were owner occupied while 26.3% were renter occupied. Homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1 while rental vacancy rate was 7.4. The average household size was 2.45 people for owner-occupied and 2.11 people for renter-occupied units.

Utility gas (43.8%) and electricity (39.9%) were the main energy sources used for house heating in West Virginia. Other house heating fuels used were: wood - 6.1%, bottled, tank, or LP gas - 4.7%, fuel oil and kerosene - 3.8%, coal or coke - 0.9%, and other - 0.8%. 0.1% of housing units used no fuel for house heating.

Of all occupied housing units, 3.1% did not have telephone service, 0.8% did not have complete plumbing facilities, and 0.9% did not have complete kitchen facilities. In addition, 9.1% did not have access to a car, truck, or van for private use. Multi-vehicle households were common in West Virginia, 37.6% had two vehicles and 18.7% had three or more vehicles. 34.6% of the households had just one vehicle.

The median value of an owner-occupied housing unit in West Virginia was $95,900.

Housing costs:

Of all owner-occupied housing units in West Virginia, 52.4% had a mortgage. The median monthly housing costs for mortgaged owners was $878, for nonmortgaged owners was $249, and for renters was $528. 25.5% of owners with mortgages, 8.8% of owners without mortgages, and 46.8% of renters in West Virginia spent 30% or more of household income on housing.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

Economic characteristics⁽⁴⁾ 

Employment status, labor force, and type of employer:

Of all population 16 years and older in West Virginia, 56.5% (833,968 people) were in labor force, 53.3% of them were males while 46.7% were females. 3.2% of all people 16 years and older were unemployed. Civilian labor force unemployment was 5.7%.

In 2008 there were 784,388 civilian employed population 16 years and over in West Virginia. Out of total civilian employed people, 76.4% were private wage and salary workers; 18.3% were government workers; and 5.2% were self-employed in own not incorporated business workers. The remaining 0.2% were unpaid family workers.

Travel to work:

In 2008, 80.9% of West Virginia workers drove to work alone, 10.9% carpooled, 0.8% took public transportation, 3.1% walked, and 1.4% used other means of transportation. The remaining 3% worked at home. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 25.4 minutes to get to work.

Industries and occupations:

The leading industries among civilian employed population in West Virginia were: educational services, health care, and social assistance - 24.8%; retail trade - 12.3%; arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services - 9.1%; manufacturing - 8.9%; construction - 7.9%; and professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services - 7.1%.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

The most common occupations among civilian employed population were: management, professional, and related occupations - 29.8%; sales and office occupations - 24%; service occupations - 18.5%; production, transportation, and material moving occupations - 14.1%, and construction, extraction, maintenance and repair occupations - 13%.

Income and benefits:

The median income of households in West Virginia was $37,989. Median family income was $49,082 and median nonfamily income was $20,652. Per capita income was $21,161. Median earnings for workers comprised $24,497; full-time male worker received $40,941 while full-time female worker received $27,472 per year.

Out of total households, 70.6% received earnings while 23.8% received retirement income other than Social Security. The average earnings comprised $52,642 while the average retirement income was $15,397. Social Security received 26.2% of all households. The average income from Social Security was $14,687. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Poverty:

In 2008, 17% of people had an income below the poverty level. 22.4% of related children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 10.5% of people 65 years old and over. 12.4% of all families and 33.9% of families with a female householder and no husband present had incomes below the poverty level.

Source: American Community Survey, 2008⁽⁵⁾. Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

References:

1. West Virginia: 2008 Selected Demographic Characteristics. 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
2. West Virginia: 2008 Selected Social Characteristics. 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
3. West Virginia: 2008 Selected Housing Characteristics. 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
4. West Virginia: 2008 Selected Economic Characteristics. 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
5. West Virginia: 2008 Population and Housing Narrative Profile. 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
6. West Virginia. State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-08.