West Virginia
State of the United States of America
Also called The Mountain State, Almost Heaven, and WV

West Virginia /ˌwɛst vərˈdʒɪnjə/ is a state located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the north, and Maryland to the northeast.

…More

West Virginia /ˌwɛst vərˈdʒɪnjə/ is a state located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the north, and Maryland to the northeast. West Virginia is the 41st largest by area, the 38th most populous, and has the second lowest household income of the 50 United States. The capital and largest city is Charleston.

West Virginia became a state following the Wheeling Conventions of 1861, in which delegates from some Unionist counties of northwestern Virginia decided to break away from Virginia during the American Civil War, although they included many secessionist counties in the new state. West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, and was a key Civil War border state. West Virginia was the only state to form by separating from a Confederate state, the first to separate from any state since Maine separated from Massachusetts, and was one of two states formed during the American Civil War.

The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States. The northern panhandle extends adjacent to Pennsylvania and Ohio, with the West Virginia cities of Wheeling and Weirton just across the border from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, while Bluefield is less than 70 miles from North Carolina. Huntington in the southwest is close to the states of Ohio and Kentucky, while Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry in the Eastern Panhandle region are considered part of the Washington metropolitan area, in between the states of Maryland and Virginia. The unique position of West Virginia means that it is often included in several geographical regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Upland South, and the Southeastern United States. It is the only state that is entirely within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission; the area is commonly defined as "Appalachia".

The state is noted for its mountains and rolling hills, its historically significant logging and coal mining industries, and its political and labor history. It is one of the most densely karstic areas in the world, making it a choice area for recreational caving and scientific research. The karst lands contribute to much of the state's cool trout waters. It is also known for a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities, including skiing, whitewater rafting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, and hunting.
Border states:
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Virginia
Maryland
Kentucky
Geography Level:
State
Total Population:
1,853,881
Average Commute Time:
25.6 minutes
Area Question:
62,755 square kilometre
County:
State:
West Virginia
Median Age:
41.6
Population Density:
77.0 people / sq. mile
Violent Crime Rate:
186 violent crimes per 100K people
Median Rent Price:
$630
Multiracial:
1.99%
Longitude:
-80.9696
Sources:
The Economic Policy Institute, CoreLogic, American Community Survey, Wikidata, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, NHGIS, CMS, BLS, CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking, and 3 more. Show details 
Hide details 
The Economic Policy Institute (epi.org)
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank created in 1986 to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions.
CoreLogic
The data on this page comes from tax, deed, and foreclosure records collected from the county recorder's office. FindTheHome aggregates these home records to compute statistics about the geographic boundaries containing those homes. Due to the nature of the data collection process, we update content on this page monthly.
Data Sets:
    Market Trends.
    As of July 2016.
American Community Survey (census.gov)
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis about our nation and its people. Information from the survey generates data that help determine how more than $400 billion in federal and state funds are distributed each year.
Data Sets:
    2014 5-Year Estimates (census.gov).
    As of December 31, 2014; refreshed yearly.
Wikidata (wikidata.org)
Wikidata is a collaboratively edited knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. It is intended to provide a common source of data which can be used by Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia, and by anyone else, under a "public domain" license. This is similar to the way Wikimedia Commons provides storage for media files and access to those files for all Wikimedia projects, and which are also freely available for reuse. Wikidata is powered by the software Wikibase.
As of September 12, 2016; refreshed weekly.
U.S. Census Bureau (census.gov)
The United States Census serves as the primary data source for the nation's people and economy. The bureau operates under Title 13 and Title 26 of the U.S. Code. They collect population, housing, and economic data and aim to do so in a timely, relevant, and cost-effective way. The data is used for a number of reasons, including but not limited to: determining the distribution of Congressional seats for states, allocation of community service resources, the distribution of federal funds to local governments, social security and other retirement benefits, and passport applications. The first census was conducted in 1790.
Data Sets:
    Census Data.
    2015 U.S. Gazetteer Files (census.gov).
    Refreshed yearly.
U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)
The DOL's mission is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.
Data Sets:
    Wage and Hour Division (dol.gov).
    The Wage and Hour mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce.
National Historical Geographic Information System (nhgis.org)
The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) provides free online access to summary statistics and GIS boundary files for U.S. censuses and other nationwide surveys from 1790 through the present. Official citation: Minnesota Population Center. National Historical Geographic Information System: Version 2.0. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota 2011.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (cms.gov)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and health insurance portability standards.
Data Sets:
    Medicare Geographic Variation PUF (cms.gov).
    As of 2014; refreshed anually.
    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed data that enables researchers and policymakers to evaluate geographic variation in the utilization and quality of health care services for the Medicare fee-for-service population.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics.
Data Sets:
    State and Local Area Unemployment Statistics (bls.gov).
    As of September 2016.
    State and local unemployment and labor force statistics provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking (ephtracking.cdc.gov)
An environmental public health indicator provides information about a population's health status with respect to environmental factors. Tracking Indicators were developed in collaboration with national, state, and local environmental health partners.
Refreshed daily.
AirNow (airnow.gov)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service, tribal, state, and local agencies developed the AirNow system to provide the public with easy access to national air quality information. State and local agencies report the air quality index (AQI) for cities across the US and parts of Canada and Mexico.
USGS National Geochemical Survey (mrdata.usgs.gov)
National-scale geochemical analysis of stream sediments and soils in the US, from existing data, reanalysis of existing samples, and new sampling. An on-going collection and analysis effort from the 1980s to the present. Goal for sample density is one per 289 square km.
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation and based on a model of openly editable content. Wikipedia's articles provide links designed to guide the user to related pages with additional information.
Still curious about our data? Contact us directly.
See more details ›