State bird
Northern cardinal
Sources: Designation & background
Local timeCharleston ·
U.S. States / South · Card 049
West Virginia
The Mountain State
The New River cuts through a deep Appalachian gorge surrounded by forest.
West Virginia and its surroundings
● State capital · Gold highlights West Virginia.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
At a glance
- Capital
- Charleston
- Postal abbreviation
- WV
- Population
- 1,766,147July 1, 2025 · Census estimate
- Total area
- 62,756 km²24,230 square miles · land and water
- Statehood
- June 20, 1863State number 35
- Region
- South
Sources: Census · population · Census · area
State symbols & traditions
A state song
Take Me Home, Country Roads
Sources: Designation & background
Geography & flag
01
Location
Neighboring states: Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia.
02
Landscape & places
The New River cuts through a deep Appalachian gorge surrounded by forest. The protected landscape also preserves evidence of communities and industries that used the river corridor, connecting natural geography with human settlement.
03
Land and water
The total area includes 62,259 km² of land and 497 km² of water, according to Census area measurements.
State flag
The state coat of arms and rhododendron wreath on white, surrounded by a blue border.
Sources: Census · geographic reference · Census · area measurements · National Park Service · New River Gorge
How the landscape works
New River Gorge combines an Appalachian river landscape with evidence of industry and communities. A river corridor can provide routes and opportunities for people while also presenting steep terrain and barriers. Historical structures are therefore part of reading the gorge, not distractions from its natural setting. Geography shapes opportunities without determining every human decision.
History
How West Virginia separated during the Civil War
When Virginia seceded in 1861, Unionists in the western counties rejected that decision. They organized a Restored Government of Virginia at Wheeling, claiming to represent the lawful state government loyal to the United States.
The U.S. Constitution requires a parent state’s consent when a new state is formed from its territory. The Restored Government supplied that consent, allowing supporters to seek admission for West Virginia. Congress required a gradual-emancipation provision, and voters accepted it. West Virginia became a state on June 20, 1863. Its creation depended on a wartime dispute over which government could legally speak for Virginia.
Read more: Historical source ↗
Why this mattered
West Virginia’s separation grew out of the Civil War and disagreement over Virginia’s secession. Supporters of the Union organized a restored Virginia government that consented to creation of the new state. That unusual process matters because the Constitution requires consent when a state is formed from another state’s territory. The boundary reflects a political and constitutional crisis.
Key dates
-
West Virginia separated from Virginia
-
Statehood · State number 35
-
Congress confirmed addition of Berkeley and Jefferson counties
Sources: Congressional Research Service · statehood · U.S. Census Bureau · historical geography · National Park Service
People and place
Indigenous history and communities today
The gorge’s historical resources place its industrial communities within a longer history of people using the river corridor. They offer a starting point for looking beyond the period of coal and railway development.
Continue with National Park Service: New River Gorge history. This is one starting point, not a complete account of the peoples connected to this land.
Compare
West Virginia and Kentucky
| Measure | West Virginia | Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2025) | 1,766,147 | 4,606,864 |
| Land area (km²) | 62,259 | 102,269 |
| People per km² of land | 28.4 | 45.0 |
Kentucky has more people per square kilometer of land. Population density divides population by land area. It is an average across the whole jurisdiction, not a claim that residents are evenly spread out.
Calculated from the Census population series and land-area measurements used on these pages. Rounded figures; water area is excluded. Explore Kentucky.
Economy
Main activities
In 2025, government and government enterprises was the largest of the broad industry groups compared here by current-dollar output. Other major groups included educational services, health care, and social assistance, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, and real estate and rental and leasing.
Total economic output was $109.3 billion in current dollars in 2025.
Largest industry groups · 2025
- Government and government enterprises: 14.9%
- Educational services, health care, and social assistance: 12.3%
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction: 12.0%
- Real estate and rental and leasing: 10.9%
Share of total current-dollar GDP. These figures measure output, not employment.
Sources: BEA · annual GDP by state, SAGDP2
Production, jobs and wages answer different questions
The industry chart measures the value of production. It does not count workers. An industry with a large share of GDP need not employ the most people or pay the highest wages. Employment and wage data would be needed to answer those questions.
Population & economic trends
Population, 2020–2025
Millions of people1.772025 · millions of people
July 1 resident population estimates, using the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 series.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau
View data table
| Year | People |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1,791,670 |
| 2021 | 1,785,921 |
| 2022 | 1,774,003 |
| 2023 | 1,770,036 |
| 2024 | 1,767,402 |
| 2025 | 1,766,147 |
Real GDP, 2010–2025
Billions of chained 2017 dollars83.172025 · billions of chained 2017 dollars
Real GDP measures economic output adjusted for inflation. The chart uses BEA’s chained 2017 dollars.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
View data table
| Year | Millions of chained 2017 dollars |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 71,823.8 |
| 2011 | 73,175.2 |
| 2012 | 73,124.5 |
| 2013 | 73,949.0 |
| 2014 | 74,111.3 |
| 2015 | 74,261.4 |
| 2016 | 73,513.3 |
| 2017 | 75,172.4 |
| 2018 | 77,406.5 |
| 2019 | 77,162.2 |
| 2020 | 74,729.6 |
| 2021 | 76,230.8 |
| 2022 | 77,549.1 |
| 2023 | 80,364.9 |
| 2024 | 82,716.5 |
| 2025 | 83,170.7 |
Read the trend, then ask what explains it
West Virginia’s population decreased by about 1.4% between 2020 and 2025 in this series. That shows the size of the change. The chart alone cannot tell us how much came from births, deaths or migration.
Real GDP adjusts for changes in prices, so it helps compare production over time. Current-dollar GDP includes price changes. Neither measure tells us how income is distributed among residents.
Representation
- Electoral votes
- 42024 & 2028 elections
- Voting U.S. House seats
- 22020 Census allocation
- U.S. Senate seats
- 2
Electoral votes equal the state’s U.S. House seats plus its two U.S. Senate seats. These allocations apply to the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections.
Practice
Test your knowledge
Use the explanations and data on this page to answer ten questions. Hints and links to the relevant sections are available throughout.
10 questions about West Virginia
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Sources & notes
Narrative and quiz updated 5 October 2026. Statistical data prepared 27 September 2026. Population: Census Bureau Vintage 2025, July 1 estimates for 2020–2025. Real GDP: BEA annual state accounts, SAGDP9, millions of chained 2017 dollars; industry shares: SAGDP2, current dollars. Data downloaded 27 September 2026. Area measurements include land and water.
Sources: Census · population estimates · BEA · state GDP · Census · area measurements · Natural Earth · map data
The capital clock shows current local time. Statistical figures are dated estimates and may be revised.
Updated 29 October 2026. Statistics retain the dated series shown in the charts; these are not live figures. Sources are linked beside each topic.