McDowell County

McDowell County, West Virginia

At a Glance

Population	19,111
County Seat	McDowell County Magistrate Court
State FIPS	54
County FIPS	047
Num Towns	20
Census-Designated Places	10
Total Town Population	7,927
Census Source	Census ACS 5-Year 2022

People & Demographics

Population (official)	18,911
Median Age	45.3
Veterans	899
Housing Units	9,450
Uninsured	245
Net Migration (recent)	-289
Growing	No

Economy & Employment

Total Establishments	196
Total Employees	2,177
Avg Annual Pay	$56,048
Median Household Income	$28,235
Poverty Rate	33.3%
Unemployment Rate	15.1%
Avg AGI per Return (IRS)	$44,508
Federal Spending FY2024	$165,422,875
Federal Spending Per Capita	$8,656

Housing & Cost of Living

Median Home Value	$47,500
Median Rent	$601
FMR Studio	$645
FMR 1BR	$649
FMR 2BR	$852
FMR 3BR	$1,125
FMR 4BR	$1,130

Health & Safety

Hospitals	0
EMS Stations	60
Fire Stations	60
Police Stations	60
Adult Smoking	31.0%
Adult Obesity	43.4%
Overdose Deaths Rate/100k	164.6
Air Quality Good Days	N/A

Infrastructure

Electricity Price (¢/kWh)	15.07
Electric Customers	866456
Towns with Broadband Data	20
Towns with 90%+ Coverage	20

Community

Churches	42
Libraries	20
Historic Places (NRHP)	18
Homeless Population	N/A
Schools	135
SNAP Stores	31
Bank Branches	5

Agriculture

Total Farms	20
Land in Farms (acres)	929
Avg Farm Size (acres)	46.5
Year	2,022

Recent Federal Disaster Declarations (15)

Type	Title	Date
EM	SEVERE WINTER STORM	2026-01-24
DR	SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES	2025-02-26
DR	SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES	2022-11-28
DR	COVID-19 PANDEMIC	2020-04-03
EM	COVID-19	2020-03-13
DR	SEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES	2015-03-31
EM	HURRICANE SANDY	2012-10-29
DR	SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS	2012-07-23
EM	SEVERE STORMS	2012-06-30
DR	SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND LANDSLIDES	2010-06-24

Detailed Topics

Communities in McDowell County

Welch — pop 3,590
Gary — pop 773
War — pop 623
Raysal — pop 364
Iaeger — pop 257
Northfork — pop 231
Davy — pop 209
Bradshaw — pop 207
Big Sandy — pop 198
Berwind — pop 188
Keystone — pop 176
Pageton — pop 174
Anawalt — pop 165
Crumpler — pop 151
Bartley — pop 146
Kimball — pop 145
Maybeury — pop 109
Vivian — pop 85
Cucumber — pop 74
Roderfield — pop 62

Data sources: Census ACS, BLS QCEW, IRS SOI, USAspending.gov, County Health Rankings, EPA AQI, HUD FMR, NCES, FEMA, National Register of Historic Places, CDC, EIA.